It is not surprising, as the issue of Chinese collaborators in Taiwan is not something new and has been a long-standing problem, Hung said. However, this incident has shown the public that Chinese infiltration is no longer limited to political figures or grassroots organizations, but has deeply penetrated into the information production chain, Hung said. This type of infiltration is highly covert and is the most difficult part of cognitive warfare to defend against, he said. CTi News said one of its reporters, Lin Chen-you (林宸佑), has been detained, but that it was not aware of the case details. Prosecutors said that Lin paid military officers bribes ranging from several thousand to tens of thousands of New Taiwan dollars in exchange for providing information to Chinese people.

Source: Taipei Times January 18, 2026 17:15 UTC