TAIPEI: Taiwan’s intelligence agency said China had stepped up cyberattacks and the spread of misleading information against the island democracy ahead of local elections next month.
China claims Taiwan as part of its territory and has long threatened to use force to bring it under its control.
Taipei, which rejects the claim, accuses China of using cyberattacks, disinformation and espionage to undermine public confidence in the Taiwanese government.
Taiwan was hit by an average of 2.6 million cyberattacks a day in the first nine months of 2026, with the attacks intensifying since June, the National Security Bureau said in a report submitted to parliament on Tuesday.
China’s “cyber army” targeted Taiwan’s academic and research sectors, telecommunications networks and defence supply chains to interfere “with the Taiwanese government’s defence operations, undermine international cooperation, and steal sensitive technologies”, the report said.
Chinese cyberattackers were making use of artificial intelligence, including “AI agents to scan for vulnerabilities on our government websites”, it said.
Intelligence officials collected more than 2.5 million pieces of disinformation disseminated by China’s ruling Communist Party over the nine-month period, compared with around 1.7 million during the same period last year. The material was spread mainly on Facebook and Threads.
Analysis indicated that the party had “utilised diverse channels”, including technological and human, “to influence the support preferences of our voters and the election results”, the report said.
Taiwanese voters will go to the polls on November 28 to elect city and county government officials.