An online rumor that National Security Bureau Director-General Chen Ming-tong (陳明通) visited Thailand at taxpayers’ expense in July is “classic cognitive warfare” intended to signal to foreign officials that their whereabouts in Thailand are known to China, a national security official said on Saturday.
The rumor originated from a Twitter message posted on Monday last week by the account “somchai” (@andreny45652235), claiming that Chen took a sightseeing trip to Thailand at public expense.
As proof, the user posted a photograph of Chen allegedly taken at Thai customs, as well as screenshots of a customs clearance spreadsheet and a hotel bill.
Photo: Liao Chen-huei, Taipei Times
The post was also shared on Facebook, including the popular group Baoliao Commune.
The bureau the same day said details of the post were incorrect, although it did not specify whether Chen visited Thailand.
“The activities of bureau officials as a matter of course are not shared with the public,” it said.
The Twitter account was created only last month and posted six messages before being taken down, a national security official said on condition of anonymity.
The incident played out as “classic cognitive warfare from overseas,” they said.
The account posted unverified photographs designed to instigate public debate and urged viewers to “see for yourself,” the official said.
The post was then shared on different social media platforms by collaborators and rewritten into news stories, ensuring that the false narrative makes the switch from online to offline to expand its sphere of influence, they said.
If true, it reveals the extent to which Chinese agents have infiltrated security systems in Thailand, they said, adding that the post intentionally includes information from multiple sources to convey its reach.
Apart from attempting to cast doubt on the abilities of Taiwan’s national security apparatus, the post also intends to send a message to officials from other countries that China might be aware of the details of their trips to Thailand, the official said.
As for the purpose of Chen’s alleged visit, the official said that Thailand has always been an important international center for intelligence.
Distrust of Beijing has deepened among other countries in the region over the past few months, and consequently boosting security ties and cooperation has become an urgent matter, they added.
Additional reporting by Aaron Tu
The Taipei MRT is open all night tonight following New Year’s Eve festivities, and is offering free rides from nearby Green Line stations. Taipei’s 2025 New Year’s Eve celebrations kick off at Taipei City Hall Square tonight, with performances from the boy band Energy, the South Korean girl group Apink, and singers Gigi Leung (梁詠琪) and Faith Yang (楊乃文). Taipei 101’s annual New Year’s firework display follows at midnight, themed around Taiwan’s Premier12 baseball championship. Estimates say there will be about 200,000 people in attendance, which is more than usual as this year’s celebrations overlap with A-mei’s (張惠妹) concert at Taipei Dome. There are
LOOKING FOR WHEELS: The military is seeking 8x8 single-chassis vehicles to test the new missile and potentially replace the nation’s existing launch vehicles, the source said Taiwan is developing a hypersonic missile based on the Ching Tien (擎天) supersonic cruise missile, and a Czech-made truck has been tentatively selected as its launch vehicle, a source said yesterday. The Ching Tien, formerly known as Yun Feng (雲峰, “Cloud Peak”), is a domestically developed missile with a range of 1,200km to 2,000km being deployed in casemate-type positions as of last month, an official said, speaking on the condition of anonymity. The hypersonic missile to be derived from the Ching Tien would feature improved range and a mobile launch platform, while the latter would most likely be a 12x12 single chassis
UP AND DOWN: The route would include a 16.4km underground section from Zuoying to Fongshan and a 9.5km elevated part from Fongshan to Pingtung Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) yesterday confirmed a project to extend the high-speed rail (HSR) to Pingtung County through Kaohsiung. Cho made the announcement at a ceremony commemorating the completion of a dome at Kaohsiung Main Station. The Ministry of Transportation and Communications approved the HSR expansion in 2019 using a route that branches off a line from Zuoying Station in Kaohsiung’s Zuoying District (左營). The project was ultimately delayed due to a lack of support for the route. The Zuoying route would have trains stop at the Zuoying Station and return to a junction before traveling southward to Pingtung County’s Lioukuaicuo Township (六塊厝).
The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) yesterday vowed to investigate claims made in a YouTube video about China’s efforts to politically influence young Taiwanese and encourage them to apply for Chinese ID cards. The council’s comments follow Saturday’s release of a video by Taiwanese rapper Chen Po-yuan (陳柏源) and YouTuber “Pa Chiung (八炯)” on China’s “united front” tactics. It is the second video on the subject the pair have released this month. In the video, Chen visits the Taiwan Youth Entrepreneurship Park in Quanzhou in China’s Fujian Province and the Strait Herald news platform in Xiamen, China. The Strait Herald — owned by newspaper
RSS