Taiwanese intelligence said Tuesday that China had intensified its cyberattacks and the spread of false information against the island as it prepares to vote in local elections at the end of November. China considers Taiwan, an island of 23 million inhabitants, as part of its territory and has not ruled out taking control of it by force.
Taiwan, which rejects these claims, accuses China of using cyberattacks, disinformation and espionage to undermine public trust in the Taiwanese government. The island suffered an average of 2.6 million cyberattacks per day in the first nine months of 2026, and this phenomenon has intensified since June, the National Security Bureau said in a report submitted to Parliament on Tuesday.
China’s “cyber army” has targeted Taiwan’s academic and research sectors, telecommunications and defense supply chains to “disrupt the Taiwanese government’s defense operations, undermine international cooperation and steal sensitive technology,” the report said.
“Influencing our voters’ preferences and election results”
Chinese hackers use artificial intelligence, including “AI agents responsible for searching for vulnerabilities on our government websites,” he specifies. Intelligence services have documented more than 2.5 million fake news stories spread by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) over the past nine months, compared to around 1.7 million during the same period last year, mainly on Facebook and Threads.
The report said the CCP “used various channels,” including technological and human, “to influence our voters’ preferences and election outcomes.” Taiwanese voters will go to the polls on November 28 to elect municipal and county officials.
