Alert to cognitive warfare
Some of the people who had bought the book If China Invades (阿共打來怎麼辦) from Eslite Bookstore’s online store have reported receiving mysterious telephone calls from Chinese claiming to be pollsters conducting a survey on “sensitive reading material.”
The callers reportedly spouted “united front” rhetoric throughout the conversation, such as “the book has inappropriate content,” “the Chinese military’s capabilities are strong, so there is no way Taiwan can win the war,” “the US will not help,” “Taiwanese soldiers are afraid to fight,” “the Chinese Nationalist Party [KMT] is better” and “unification with Taiwan is inevitable.”
The Taiwan Statebuilding Party accused Eslite of being responsible for the alleged leak of its customers’ private data and called on the government to take more concrete steps in countering China’s all-out cognitive warfare.
Eslite should conduct a thorough review, bolster its data and information security, and carry out remedial measures, such as compensating buyers whose data were leaked, as well as submit a report to the Ministry of Digital Affairs.
The ministry should mete out penalties if Eslite is found to have contravened regulations. It would serve as a warning that if other private or public institutions or corporations make the same mistakes, they would be given harsh penalties.
China’s cognitive warfare has gone from the underground to the public sphere, from collective warfare to individual, one-on-one infiltration. Beijing would only step up its attacks, and if the public does not have enough resolve or awareness, it risks being brainwashed and influenced by the Chinese Communist Party’s relentless propaganda. To push back against the dirty tricks of China’s cognitive warfare, the government should educate the public on how to identify, deal with and think about infiltration.
Chi An-hsiu
Taipei
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