|
PRC steps up
psychological warfare targeted at Taiwan
By J. Michael Cole and Shelley Shan / Staff Reporters
China is intensifying its psychological warfare against Taiwan and appears to be
using tourism as a means to collect intelligence in Taiwan, information obtained
by the Taipei Times shows.
Reports on various Chinese military Web sites dating back to March last year
reveal that the Nanjing Military Region’s General Political Department’s (GPD)
311 Base in Fuzhou City, Fujian Province, has been turned into a center of
political warfare operations against Taiwan.
Reorganization efforts have seen China’s Voice of the Straits radio, formerly
known as the People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) Fujian frontline broadcasting
station, incorporated into the 311 Base.
The station, a service launched in the 1950s to broadcast propaganda at Taiwan,
introduced online broadcasting in April 2000.
The move was part of an expansion of psychological warfare from the radio
station to a variety of fields, including publishing and other areas of contact
with Taiwan, making the 311 Base “the cornerstone of the PLA’s psychological
warfare against Taiwan,” the reports said.
Included in those other “areas of contact” was tourism, the reports said, adding
that the 311 Base and its subsidiaries would make “further investments,” without
specifying what those were.
News of the reorganization coincided with rapid growth last year in the number
of Chinese tourists visiting Taiwan.
Among the functions of the GPD are ideological education, security, discipline,
propaganda and psychological work among active service personnel. Two subunits —
liaison and security — are of particular interest.
The Liaison Department, whose primary target is Taiwan, is responsible for
influencing the political opinions and attitudes of enemy personnel, as well as
collecting and analyzing intelligence on social, political and demographic
situations in target countries. It also directs training on psychological
warfare.
The role of the Security Department, among others, is directing security and
counterintelligence operations.
Chinese must obtain permission from the Chinese government to visit Taiwan.
Those who intend to travel independently must apply to the Ministry of Public
Security through a Chinese tour organizer.
Security analysts have long said that this process presents Chinese authorities
with opportunities to “direct” Chinese tourists. It is also believed that
Chinese intelligence operatives have been using tourism as cover to undertake
operations in Taiwan.
Since President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) administration opened the country to
Chinese tourism, a number of incidents involving Chinese have raised concerns
about national security. In May 2009, Ma Zhongfei (馬中飛) was arrested on charges
of spying at a military facility in Taipei after he was caught taking pictures
near a restricted area.
Less well known is that that facility houses the Information and Communication
Security Technology center, which plays a crucial coordination role in ensuring
information security for all government agencies.
Asked for comment, Tourism Bureau Deputy Director General David Hsieh (謝謂君) said
he had not heard of such things and did not want to speculate on the motives of
Chinese visitors.
“When we allowed Chinese to travel in Taiwan, the organizations in charge of
national security evaluated some of the issues that this might create,” he said,
adding that the bureau only wanted to focus on tourism.
Travel permit applications by Chinese tourists are reviewed by the National
Immigration Agency, he said.
Chinese who are part of a tour group must abide by the schedules arranged by
Taiwanese travel agents and are unlikely to engage in non-tourism activities,
Hsieh said.
As for free independent travelers, Hsieh said different government agencies
should have their own security measures, but should not single out Chinese
tourists.
Some travel agents told the Taipei Times they had heard that Chinese “secret
service” agents were joining tour groups to monitor the movement of Chinese
tourists in Taiwan and report on those who engaged in unusual activities.
However, they said they had yet to meet one in person or at least were unaware
if they had done so.
About 1.6 million Chinese tourists visited Taiwan last year, a number that is
expected to reach 2.1 million this year.
|
