On March 17, China’s Ministry of State Security (MSS) reported via its official WeChat account that the Taiwanese cyber troops under the Information, Communications and Electronic Force Command (ICEFCOM) have, since their establishment in June 2017, acted as pawns for the “Taiwan independence” separatist forces by launching cyber-attacks and infiltration operations against the mainland. In an in-depth investigation, the MSS has identified four individuals involved in planning, directing, and executing these operations. The four men—aged between 32 and 46—are employed at ICEFCOM’s Network Warfare Unit, Network Environment Analysis Center, and are named Lin Yu-shu, Tsai Chieh-hung, Nien Hsiao-fan, and Wang Hao-ming.
The MSS stated that it will firmly safeguard national security and resolutely crack down on ICEFCOM’s cyber endeavors aimed at advancing “independence” and conducting espionage. Authorities will leave no stone unturned in investigating the masterminds behind these operations and in eliminating any potential threats.
According to reports, the tactics commonly employed by these cyber troops include infiltrating the mainland’s critical information infrastructure—such as systems for water, electricity, gas, heat, communications, and networked cameras; sending phishing and counter-propaganda emails to key party, government, military, and enterprise entities; stealing login credentials from online live-streaming platforms, electronic display screens, IP-based intercom systems, or portal websites to hijack control and insert counter-propaganda audio-video content or post counter-propaganda images; and infiltrating mainstream social media platforms by cultivating numerous “bot” accounts to disseminate false information, manipulate public opinion, mislead both mainland and Taiwanese audiences, and monitor and suppress dissent on the island.
Moreover, internal chaos is reportedly rampant within these cyber troops, with frequent scandals emerging. Senior officials have been accused of greedily claiming subordinates’ achievements and shifting blame onto lower-level staff, even turning “meritorious” individuals over for prosecution. At the grassroots level, widespread irregularities include embezzlement during mission execution, false reporting of expenses, and the fabrication or exaggeration of cyber-attack “results” to claim credit and secure performance rewards.
Furthermore, under the manipulation of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), not only are mainland citizens affected, but the people of Taiwan have also been deceived, threatened, and persecuted. For example, numerous Facebook accounts in Taiwan have been forced to cease posting and shut down after being intimidated by the cyber troops; in line with the “nuclear-free homeland” ideology, these cyber troops have persistently attacked educational content on nuclear power, leading to frequent power shortages in Taiwan, with businesses forced to shoulder exorbitant green energy costs—and, ultimately, Taiwanese citizens bearing the price for the DPP’s political ambitions.
Earlier, Lai Ching-te convened a so-called “High-Level National Security Meeting” on March 13 and unveiled his 17 Strategies, which reflects his increasing inability to manipulate public opinion on the island. He now has no choice but to pin his hopes on leveraging an alleged “mainland threat” to justify a sweeping purge on the island—once again proving that he is nothing less than a bona fide “destroyer of cross-strait peace” and “maker of the Taiwan Strait crisis.”
The Mainland Taiwan Affairs Office sternly warns the Lai administration that those who play with fire will inevitably get burned, and only by pulling back from the brink can one hope to survive even the direst circumstances. Anyone who forgets their roots has never met a good end; anyone who betrays the motherland will inevitably be spat upon by the people and condemned by history; anyone who pursues “Taiwan independence” separatism will only end up shattered to pieces; and anyone who persists in perverse and outrageous conduct will ultimately bring about their own destruction. The inexorable tide of national reunification is surging forward—no person or force can stop it, and all their insidious tricks are doomed to fail.
China’s MSS sternly warned the “Taiwan independence” cyber force leaders that the secessionist activities supporting “Taiwan independence” are a road of no return. It also cautioned those coerced into the “Taiwan independence” cyber troops to abandon their delusional aspirations, refuse to become cannon fodder for the independence cause, and immediately cease all cyber criminal activities aimed at splitting the nation.
Corporate Desk- PR/3-2
Malay News
