Equipment made by Chinese tech giant Huawei – which is obligated to help national security authorities – has been linked to leaking sensitive information about a visit to Thailand by Taiwan’s intelligence chief, it said on Thursday. officials.
National Security Director Chen Ming-tung told Taipei lawmakers that recent social media posts leaked sensitive details about his stay in Bangkok.
A Twitter account using the handle @andreny45652235 tweeted photos of Chen allegedly taken at the airport on September 12, along with an official customs document and a hotel bill. The same message was also shared on Facebook.
Taiwan’s Legislative Council called on Chen to respond.
Chen told the legislature that the social media post was a form of pro-China “cognitive warfare” and pointed to the widespread use of Huawei equipment at the airport.
“This information comes from a temporary website, which is very similar to the methods used by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) in the past,” he said. “Clearly this is a form of cognitive warfare.”
He said Taiwanese intelligence has been informed that there may be security breaches related to Huawei equipment at the airport.
“We saw surveillance cameras, and they were basically all made by Huawei,” he said, vowing to stop further leaks.
“We will work hard to make sure this kind of thing doesn’t happen again,” Chen told the Legislative Yuan Foreign Affairs Committee. “This cannot happen again.”
Investigations launched
The committee also questioned political warfare chief Yang An about a similar leak related to an official visit by his predecessor Chien Shih-wei to Honolulu in September.
“Itinerary preparations were also leaked. We have set up a task force to review our operating procedures … and investigate who leaked the information and how,” Yang said.
“Our investigation revealed that the route [of Chien’s trip] was disclosed during an administrative visit to the United States,” he told the committee.
“If there have been illegal activities, they will be punished according to law.”
Responding to recent comments by CIA Director Bill Burns, Chen said Taiwan’s intelligence services generally view 2023, 2025 and 2027 as potential years in which China could invade the democratic island.
“We take each of these possibilities seriously,” Chen said. “The most important thing is to make the CCP understand that it cannot win if it tries to take Taiwan by force.”
“They will face economic boycotts, sanctions and diplomatic isolation that will impact their so-called project, ‘the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation,'” he said.
“They should be very careful and not start such a war lightly.”
Chen said Taiwan’s intelligence services fully expect CCP leader Xi Jinping to win a third term at the 20th CPC National Congress, which opens in Beijing on Oct. 16.
“Xi’s first two terms were legitimate and the third is controversial, but he will continue amid this controversy,” Chen said.
Chen’s comments came as former White House National Security Council chief of staff Alexander Gray arrived in Taiwan as a guest of the National Defense and Security Research Institute (INDSR). ), which falls under the island’s Ministry of Defense.
Gray will be in Taiwan for a month to discuss research topics with scholars from the institute and share research knowledge, Taiwan’s Central News Agency (CNA) reported.
The INDSR’s mission is to “safeguard Taiwan’s democracy and prosperity” by leading the government on national security, defense policies and regional security, he said.
Translated and edited by Luisetta Mudie.
