Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen said that China has stepped up its efforts to infiltrate and gain influence in Taiwan and she asked national security agencies to counter Beijing’s efforts.
Tsai, speaking to reporters after a national security meeting, said China’s influence operations included attempts to interfere with elections and fake news campaigns. She did not detail specific incidents but said Taiwan’s national security agencies would be finding ways to tackle China’s moves.
Tsai said Taiwan would deter military aggression in the Taiwan strait, vowing to boost defence capabilities, including upgrading military equipment and the recently launched programme to build submarines locally.
Beijing suspects Tsai is pushing for the island’s formal independence and has steadily stepped up political and military pressure. Any formal independence move is a red line for China, which has never renounced the use of force to bring Taiwan under its control.