Taiwan Sees Fivefold Surge in CCP’s Infiltration Cases

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Nov 19, 2025 - 11:05 Updated: Nov 19, 2025 - 10:55
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Taiwan Sees Fivefold Surge in CCP’s Infiltration Cases

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The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has ramped up efforts to infiltrate Taiwan, targeting individuals across various sectors ranging from military officers and government officers to ordinary citizens, according to the Mainland Affairs Council in Taipei.

In 2022, around 28 people were charged in cases related to the CCP’s infiltration operations in Taiwan, but that number skyrocketed to 168 last year, according to a Nov. 16 statement from the council, citing data from Taiwan’s justice ministry.
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The revelation came as President Lai Ching-te’s administration has intensified efforts to put the spotlight on the CCP’s covert operations on the self-ruled island. Taiwan’s High Prosecutors Office disclosed a national security case on Nov. 17 involving a Chinese citizen accused of running an espionage network in Taiwan under the orders of the Chinese military.

While the CCP has never ruled Taiwan, it claims the self-governed democracy as its own territory, to be taken by force if necessary.

The Mainland Affairs Council cited Judge Hsu Kai-hsieh of the Taipei District Court, who identified six key strategies employed by the CCP to influence Taiwan’s 23 million people.

These include intelligence gathering that primarily targets military personnel, as well as penetrating local communities through hometown and alumni associations or tour groups to China.

In addition, the CCP also seeks to interfere in Taiwan’s elections and steal core technology through collaborations between China-funded enterprises and Taiwan’s tech sector, the council said.

The CCP has also dispatched agents to “infiltrate Taiwan’s political parties seeking to divide Taiwanese society,” the council added.

New Espionage Case

On Nov. 18, a Chinese citizen and six serving and retired Taiwanese military officers were indicted for allegedly spying for the CCP, according to the Taiwan High Prosecutors Office.
Prosecutors said that the Chinese national, identified only by his surname, Ding, held a Hong Kong residence card and visited Taiwan multiple times allegedly under the pretext of conducting business or tourism in order to establish a network for gathering sensitive information from Taiwan’s defense, military, and government.
Investigators found that Ding’s alleged operations were conducted under the instruction of the Chinese military, Taiwan’s Ministry of Justice Investigation Bureau said in a separate statement.

Ding allegedly recruited four Taiwanese, including two retired service members, who were subsequently directed to approach their former colleagues and subordinates to assist in intelligence gathering, according to the bureau.

As a result, four additional Taiwanese military personnel joined the network, it said.

According to the investigation bureau, Ding allegedly also sought to convince active-duty officers to lead their subordinates to acquiesce in the event of a future conflict across the Taiwan Strait.

Two of the individuals are now deceased, and the remaining seven, including Ding, are currently in detention. The bureau did not specify when their arrests took place but mentioned that the investigation started on July 24.

Ding and the six others have been charged by Taiwan’s High Prosecutors Office with offenses under the National Security Act, the Classified National Security Information Protection Act, and the Criminal Code of the Armed Forces. Prosecutors said they had requested the court to impose heavy sentences.

Three of the seven, identified by their surnames as Ding, Wang, and Chen, face additional charges from the Taipei District Prosecutors Office for money laundering and violations of the Banking Act.

The Epoch Times was unable to immediately obtain contact information for the lawyers of any of the seven defendants.

Taiwan’s defense ministry said in a statement that the case stemmed from an internal review conducted by its political warfare bureau, which flagged activities by a major surnamed Yang as suspicious.

The defense ministry revealed that among the seven individuals involved in this case, two were serving in active duty.

In response, the ministry pledged to enhance counterintelligence training and improve security awareness of military personnel.

“The CCP has never stopped its efforts to infiltrate and undermine Taiwan and is actively developing organisations on the island,” the defense ministry said.

“The ministry strongly condemns the treasonous acts of a small number of officers and soldiers who violated their duty of loyalty.”

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