The Ministry of National Defense today denied claims by China’s security agency that it was behind a hacker group that has been carrying out cyberattacks against Chinese targets.
The Chinese Ministry of State Security earlier today in a post on WeChat said that the hacker group “Anonymous 64” has since early this year sought to upload and broadcast "content that denigrates the mainland's political system and major policies" on Web sites, outdoor screens and TV stations.
It claimed that the Taiwanese military’s cyberwarfare command was behind the group, and said it had opened investigations into three members of the military wing.
Photo: Reuters
The post included their photographs and names.
"We advocate that netizens should not believe in or spread rumors and should promptly report cyberattacks or cases of anti-propaganda activity to the national security authorities," the Chinese ministry said.
The Information, Communications and Electronic Force Command (ICEFCOM) in a statement denied the claims and said it is China that is undermining regional stability.
The unit is tasked with maintaining the military’s online networks and communication, it said.
It is rather the Chinese military “and forces that coordinate with it that continue to use aircraft, ships and cyberattacks to harass Taiwan and are the originators of undermining regional peace," it added.
ICEFCOM was formed in July 2017 to integrate the information, communications and electronic capabilities of the military’s three branches.
It is also tasked with responding to threats from the Chinese People's Liberation Army Cyberspace Force.
Anonymous 64’s X account said it was set up in June last year and showed screenshots of efforts to broadcast videos likening Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) to an emperor, marking the second anniversary of protests against Beijing's strict COVID-19 curbs and commemorating the 1989 Tiananmen Square demonstrations.
Foreign tourists who purchase a seven-day Taiwan Pass are to get a second one free of charge as part of a government bid to boost tourism, the Tourism Administration said yesterday. A pair of Taiwan Passes is priced at NT$5,000 (US$156.44), an agency staff member said, adding that the passes can be used separately. The pass can be used in many of Taiwan’s major cities and to travel to several tourist resorts. It expires seven days after it is first used. The pass is a three-in-one package covering the high-speed rail system, mass rapid transport (MRT) services and the Taiwan Tourist Shuttle services,
Drinking a lot of water or milk would not help a person who has ingested terbufos, a toxic chemical that has been identified as the likely cause of three deaths, a health expert said yesterday. An 83-year-old woman surnamed Tseng (曾) and two others died this week after eating millet dumplings with snails that Tseng had made. Tseng died on Tuesday and others ate the leftovers when they went to her home to mourn her death that evening. Twelve people became ill after eating the dumplings following Tseng’s death. Their symptoms included vomiting and convulsions. Six were hospitalized, with two of them
DIVA-READY: The city’s deadline for the repairs is one day before pop star Jody Chiang is to perform at the Taipei Dome for the city’s Double Ten National Day celebrations The Taipei City Government has asked Farglory Group (遠雄集團) to repair serious water leaks in the Taipei Dome before Friday next week, Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) said yesterday, following complaints that many areas at the stadium were leaking during two baseball games over the weekend. The dome on Saturday and Sunday hosted two games in tribute to CTBC Brothers’ star Chou Szu-chi (周思齊) ahead of his retirement from the CPBL. The games each attracted about 40,000 people, filling the stadium to capacity. However, amid heavy rain, many people reported water leaking on some seats, at the entrance and exit areas, and the
BIG collection: The herbarium holds more than 560,000 specimens, from the Japanese colonial period to the present, including the Wulai azalea, which is now extinct in the wild The largest collection of plant specimens in Taiwan, the Taipei Botanical Garden’s herbarium, is celebrating its 100th anniversary with an exhibition that opened on Friday. The herbarium provides critical historical documents for botanists and is the first of its kind in Taiwan, Taiwan Forestry Research Institute director Tseng Yen-hsueh (曾彥學) said. It is housed in a two-story red brick building, which opened during 1924. At the time, it stored 30,000 plant specimens from almost 6,000 species, including Taiwanese plant samples collected by Tomitaro Makino, the “father of Japanese botany,” Tseng said. The herbarium collection has grown in the century since its