Taiwan’s new website for mainland Chinese to securely report intelligence-related information has sparked debate over whether it is workable.
The self-governed island’s National Security Bureau (NSB) on Sunday said it had established a “contact window” to collect political, military, economic and social intelligence from mainland China.
The bureau said the initiative was modelled on the practices of intelligence agencies in the United States, Britain and Israel.
It cited public dissatisfaction on the mainland over the economy, political repression and social problems, claiming a growing number of mainland Chinese were approaching Taiwan-related agencies to provide information.
The website offers security guidance for potential informants, including the use of foreign-brand devices, virtual private networks and anonymous internet connections.
The announcement was met with scepticism from opposition lawmakers and online commenters.
Hsu Yu-chen, deputy secretary general of the legislative caucus of the opposition Kuomintang (KMT), said the biggest challenge would be distinguishing genuine intelligence from disinformation.
“Faced with the Communist Party’s powerful surveillance system, how the NSB filters out intentional disinformation from a vast amount of information whose authenticity is difficult to verify will be a major challenge,” she said.
Hsu said the initiative was more symbolic than practical and that the government was seeking political gains from the announcement.
KMT lawmaker Huang Jen said advances in artificial intelligence technology would make it harder to verify information supplied on the site.
“Whether it is possible to obtain truly accurate and reliable intelligence remains a major question,” he said.
Lawmakers from the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) defended the initiative.
DPP caucus chief executive Chuang Jui-hsiung said the move should be welcomed.
“If we can obtain information in advance about any moves China may be contemplating, that is a good thing,” he said.
But the online reaction was critical, with many commenters questioning whether Taiwan could provide adequate protection for those caught cooperating with its intelligence services.
“The first requirement for recruiting informants is being able to guarantee their safety, and Taiwan doesn’t have that capability,” one commenter wrote.
Others argued that any mainland Chinese willing to provide information were likely to have limited value as intelligence sources or they could be double agents.
There was also concern that the website could become a vehicle for mainland Chinese counter-intelligence operations.
Analysts said it was unclear how effective the initiative would be.
Weng Yen-ching, a retired lieutenant general and former deputy director of Taiwan’s Military Intelligence Bureau, said encouraging people from an adversary’s camp to provide information was a standard intelligence practice around the world.
But he said the campaign’s “scattershot approach” was unlikely to produce large amounts of high-value intelligence.
“The chances of obtaining truly important intelligence are not particularly high,” Weng said. “But if you happen to establish contact with a valuable dissident or source then it’s a worthwhile gain.”
He said the most immediate impact would likely be political.
“On the one hand, it creates a nuisance for the adversary,” he said. “On the other, it serves a messaging function intended to reassure the Taiwanese public amid frequent reports of Chinese espionage activities targeting Taiwan.”
Lin Ying-yu, a strategic studies professor at Tamkang University in New Taipei City, said while the website could provide more intelligence sources it also carried obvious counter-intelligence risks.
“The other side could deliberately provide false intelligence,” Lin said. “While [the website] creates an additional source of information, the more important task is intelligence analysis and verification.”
But Su Tzu-yun, a senior analyst at the government-funded Institute for National Defence and Security Research in Taipei, said the initiative could expand intelligence collection and also counter Beijing’s efforts to infiltrate Taiwan.
“Technologies such as the dark web could reduce the risk of surveillance and I believe the NSB has prepared for such security considerations,” he said.
Beijing – which sees Taiwan as part of China to be reunited by force if necessary – has yet to formally respond to the announcement.
Most countries, including the United States, do not recognise Taiwan as an independent state, but Washington is opposed to any attempt to take the island by force and is committed to supplying it with weapons. -- SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST
