China's Actions Disrupt Taiwan, Impacts Spread Far and Wide
Tensions between China and Taiwan, ongoing since the era of Mao Zedong, continue to this day and have increasingly extended into the digital realm. China is reported to be targeting Taiwan to obtain advanced chip manufacturing technology and the talent behind it.
This tactic is employed as China faces growing pressure to access international technology in order to develop its domestic industries. More specifically, China is seeking self-sufficiency in the advanced semiconductor sector amid intensifying technological competition with the US.
Taiwan, which China claims as its ‘territory’, periodically reports networks of Chinese companies attempting to illegally steal talent and advanced semiconductor technology from the country.
Taiwan also has strict laws to prevent its most advanced technology from flowing to China.
In a report to policymakers, Taiwan’s National Security Bureau stated that China is attempting to ‘entice’ Taiwan’s high-tech industries, including AI and semiconductors, to establish operations in China.
“China is also continuously using indirect channels to persuade Taiwanese talent, steal technology, and access controlled goods, with the aim of obtaining our core products and technologies. For example, Taiwan’s advanced processing chips,” according to the report, cited from Reuters, Wednesday (8/4/2026).
The Taiwan Affairs Office in China did not immediately respond to requests for comment. China states that Taiwan is one of its provinces and will ultimately come under Beijing’s control.
For context, Taiwan is home to TSMC, the world’s largest contract chip manufacturer and a major supplier to tech giants such as Nvidia and Apple.
China is also expected to employ various hybrid methods, including deepfakes and fake polls, to disrupt Taiwan’s local elections at the end of the year, according to the report, a copy of which was reviewed by Reuters.
Taiwan’s Government Services Network was targeted by more than 170 million intrusion attempts in the first quarter of this year, the report added, which was presented ahead of a question-and-answer session with the bureau’s Director General, Tsai Ming-yen, on Wednesday.
“It cannot be ruled out that the Chinese Communist Party is preparing the groundwork to interfere in Taiwan’s general elections at the end of the year, with the intent to expand intelligence gathering, surveillance, and data theft,” the report stated.
Taiwan also faces ongoing military pressure from China. In the first quarter, more than 420 Chinese military aircraft were detected operating around Taiwan, and Chinese naval vessels coordinated with them in conducting 10 “joint combat readiness patrols,” the report added.
The Chinese Communist Party faces increasing risks due to domestic and external pressures such as economic weakness and geopolitical competition, the report added.
“Nevertheless, they continue to use various hybrid threats against Taiwan, including military intimidation,” the report stated.
The Taiwanese government rejects Beijing’s sovereignty claims, stating that only the people on the island can determine their future fate.