Taiwan has seen a “significant rise” in the number of individuals charged with spying for China in recent years, according to new data released by the island’s security bureau, amid escalating intimidation by Beijing.
In a report released Sunday, Taiwan’s National Security Bureau (NSB) said the number of individuals prosecuted for Chinese espionage had increased threefold in recent years, rising from 16 in 2021 to 64 in 2024.
Of those 64 charged, 15 were military veterans and 28 were active service members, according to the report, which said targets of Chinese infiltration included military units, government agencies and local associations.
The number of prosecutions last year was the highest seen in a decade, a senior security official told CNN, and comes as Taiwan has faced increasing intimidation from Beijing.
Beijing claims the self-governing democracy as its own territory and has vowed to take control of it, by force if necessary, despite having never controlled it.
The Taiwanese government has repeatedly rejected China’s sovereignty claims and emphasized that Taiwan’s future can only be decided by its 23.5 million people.
