CCP Intensifies Disinformation And Cyberattacks On Taiwan

According to a report released by the think tank of Japanese Defense Ministry on Nov 25th, Communist China’s armed forces are increasingly engaging in non-military warfare against Taiwan, using disinformation and psychological manipulation as weapons. The report focuses on cognitive warfare waged by the CCP, an approach to disseminate information benefiting CCP through social media platforms and cyberspace. The report said that the CCP was carrying out a highly diversified influence campaign, including a “public opinion warfare” that affects concepts, a “psychological warfare” that relies on intimidation, and a “legal warfare” that pushes the battle to the courts. Beijing envisages combining these “three war zones” with military operations. According to the report, the CCP spread false information, sent warships to Taiwan’s contiguous areas, and conducted military exercises, creating a large-scale panic in the island. As part of Xi Jinping’s 2015 military reforms, the CCP also established the Strategic Support Forces to carry out influence operations. The specialized troops are responsible for cyber and electronic warfare, as well as space operations. According to the documents by National Institute of Defense studies (NIDS), Taiwan experienced 1.4 billion cyberattacks between September 2019 and August 2020. In addition, there is evidence that the CCP uses Taiwan’s identity to spread harmful information.