Taiwan is cracking down on what it calls dangerous Chinese sympathizers within its civil service and military, according to the Wall Street Journal. The government of President Lai Ching-te sees these efforts as essential to protect Taiwan from Beijing’s increasingly aggressive infiltration tactics. At the heart of this campaign is a belief that many of these Chinese supporters are not only vulnerable to corruption but may have already been corrupted by China’s government.

The Drive to Root Out Chinese Influence

President Lai Ching-te has put preserving Taiwan’s independence at the center of his agenda. In March, he called China a “foreign adversary” and said Taiwan must stand firm against any efforts to sway its people toward unification. The first step in this campaign has been to vet hundreds of thousands of military and civil service personnel for any connections to Beijing.

Authorities are demanding that these workers declare whether they hold Chinese identity cards or residence permits, which are seen as direct links to Beijing’s control. The Mainland Affairs Council has already screened more than 370,000 people and found 77 with these questionable ties. Chiu Chui-cheng, head of the Mainland Affairs Council, said, “The number so far has been quite small.” But he also said it is no surprise that President Lai is moving forward with this campaign given the rising threat from China.

The government has broadened its vetting to schools and local governments. Teachers and administrators are being told they must report any Chinese IDs they hold or risk losing their jobs. A teachers union has pushed back, calling the checks an “undue burden on educators,” but the government is determined to press on.

Beijing’s Hidden Strategy

Many in Taiwan believe that China’s so-called “residence permits” and other offers to Taiwanese people living on the mainland are not acts of friendship. Instead, they are part of a hidden strategy to pull Taiwan closer to Beijing. Ho Cheng-hui, co-founder of Taiwan’s Kuma Academy, described it as “a strategy of nibbling away and swallowing whole.” He warned, “It doesn’t look like a large-scale invasion, but over time, they gradually absorb them through these means.”

The Chinese Communist Party is known for playing a long game, using seemingly harmless ties to create vulnerabilities it can later exploit. Chinese identity documents provide access to services and help with tasks like opening bank accounts, but Taiwanese security officials see them as a tool for Beijing to co-opt Taiwanese citizens and turn them into future agents of influence.

Critics of Beijing say that once these ties are established, Chinese officials can easily manipulate them. Money, business deals, and other incentives can be used to compromise people in Taiwan’s civil service and military. This is why the Lai administration believes even a small number of people holding Chinese IDs is a serious national security threat.

The Gray Zone: China’s Subtle Warfare

China’s pressure on Taiwan does not rely solely on military threats. Analysts call Beijing’s approach “gray zone” tactics, which fall somewhere between war and peace. These tactics are meant to erode Taiwan’s willpower without firing a shot.

These gray zone activities include:

• Spreading propaganda on social media to make Taiwanese people doubt their government
• Cyber attacks against Taiwanese agencies
• Offering economic incentives that can turn into corruption traps
• Military exercises meant to show Taiwan that resistance is futile
• Handing out Chinese residence permits to create a shadow government of loyalists

A report by Dr. Philip Shetler-Jones notes that China’s activities “unfold gradually, are not attributable, use legal and political justifications, and exploit weaknesses and vulnerabilities in targeted countries and societies.”

The Chinese Communist Party itself describes these activities as “Three Warfares”: public opinion warfare, psychological warfare, and legal warfare. These are all meant to blur the line between friend and foe, making it harder for Taiwan to defend itself.

Taiwan’s military has seen this firsthand. Admiral Samuel Paparo of the US Indo-Pacific Command recently said, “Chinese aggressive maneuvers around Taiwan right now are not exercises, as they call them. They are rehearsals.” Taiwan’s defense officials agree, warning that China’s military activities are just the visible part of a larger plan to subvert Taiwan from within.

Beijing’s Efforts to Divide Taiwan

Taiwanese officials also suspect that Beijing is trying to drive wedges within Taiwan’s democracy. By encouraging some Taiwanese to take Chinese residence permits, China can create a class of people more loyal to Beijing than to their own island. President Lai believes this is the real danger: that these Chinese supporters could someday be used as a fifth column, ready to help Beijing weaken Taiwan’s government from inside.

The most visible example of this is Chang Li-chi, a teacher at Huaqiao University in China who was stripped of Taiwanese citizenship for getting a Chinese permanent residence permit. In an online interview, Chang said it was “the realization of a long-pursued and eagerly awaited goal.” He has also written essays praising China’s Communist Party. Taiwan saw this as a clear sign of disloyalty. The Mainland Affairs Council’s deputy chief, Liang Wen-chieh, said Chang will now have to “apply for an entry permit” if he ever wants to return.

China’s government says these residence permits are just a convenience. But Taiwan’s leaders are not buying it. They see these documents as part of China’s long-term plan to absorb Taiwan’s people, one ID card at a time.

The Pushback

Not everyone in Taiwan supports these strict measures. Critics worry that vetting teachers and government workers for Chinese ties could create a culture of suspicion. A teachers union leader, Hou Chun-liang, said schools should not become “ATMs” for government political campaigns. But supporters argue that China’s manipulation is too dangerous to ignore.

Ja Ian Chong, a political scientist at the National University of Singapore, said, “Any government that sees itself as serving the people in Taiwan first and foremost would likely take similar action.” For President Lai, this is about making sure that no one in Taiwan’s civil service can be used by Beijing.

For Taiwan, the stakes could not be higher. China has made it clear that it wants Taiwan back, and it is willing to use every trick it can find to make that happen. Taiwan’s leaders see this vetting process as essential to stop Chinese manipulation before it becomes an even bigger threat.

As President Lai said, “China is a foreign adversary.” Taiwan is determined to show that it will not let its government be infiltrated or compromised by Chinese influence. In this fight, rooting out corruption and infiltration is seen as the first step toward making sure Taiwan’s independence stays secure.