Taiwan Launches Intelligence Portal Directed at Chinese

Taiwan’s National Security Bureau (國家安全局) announced the launch earlier this month of an online portal that allows Chinese citizens to submit intelligence to the agency. The Bureau cites as the foundation for this new mechanism the National Intelligence Work Act (國家情報工作法), the legal framework outlining its power to gather foreign intelligence and enlist sources from abroad. The Bureau notes a rise in outreach from Chinese citizens in recent years, attributing it to economic stagnation and to what it described as “high-pressure” (高壓) political rule under the Party.

The platform guides potential users in China through six operational steps in order to remain secure. First, they must use a foreign-brand phone or tablet. Second, they must first restore the device to factory settings. Third, they must use a Wi-Fi connection that does not require real-name registration. Fourth, they must use a VPN to hide their browsing activity. Fifth, they must use a non-Chinese browser. Finally, they must enable private or incognito browsing mode.

The Bureau also produced a one-minute promotional video, “Change” (改變), generated using AI. It depicts a civil servant watching colleagues disappear one by one under investigation, before deciding to reach out to the Taiwanese Bureau. The video ends with the line: “Now is the time to make a change.”