China 'internet army' criticism seeks to divert internal discontent: Analyst

Taipei, Oct. 1 (CNA) The accusation by the Chinese government that an internet army backed by Taiwan's military has launched cyberattacks on Chinese Internet infrastructure is a typical Russian cognitive warfare tactic and aims to divert the attention of the Chinese public from a recent unpopular policy, according to an analyst.

In a social media post on Sept. 23, China's Ministry of State Security accused Taiwan's Ministry of National Defense of funding a group of hackers known as Anonymous 64, which works in conjunction with the MND's Information, Communications, and Electronic Force Command (ICEFCOM) to infiltrate and seize control of portal websites, outdoor electronic billboards and video-on-demand platforms in China, Hong Kong and Macau.

The hackers' activities include spreading false information, creating rifts in the public and weakening the governance of the Chinese Communist Party, the post said.

In an analysis published on the website of the Institute for National Defense and Security Research (INDSR), an MND think tank, policy analyst Tseng Min-chen (曾敏禎) said China's accusation seeks to divert the attention of the Chinese people from a bill passed by the National People's Congress on Sept. 13 increasing the legal retirement age from 60 to 63 for male workers who do not hold a managerial position, from 50 to 55 for female workers, and from 55 to 58 for female executives from 2025 over 15 years.

According to Tseng, the legislation has caused considerable discontent among the Chinese public. China's accusation was directly from Russia's cognitive warfare playbook, which centers on "four Ds" - "distract" attention, "distort" facts, "dismiss" the opponent, and "dismay" the intended audience.

Referring to the post, Tseng also questioned why the Chinese government was so slow to respond and only exposed the alleged cyberattacks now after claiming the activities began in 2017 shortly after the ICEFCOM was created.

In the post, the Chinese agency identified three individuals who are allegedly active members of Taiwan's military and under investigation by Chinese authorities for being involved in the cyberattacks.

This is a legal warfare tactic also aimed at dismaying and rattling people in Taiwan, Tseng argued, even though Taiwan's authorities have not commented on the truthfulness of the claim.

By employing the aforementioned tactics, China is attempting to cover up the fact that it is in fact a hotbed of hackers, and the Taiwanese government should devise responses to counter China's cognitive warfare, Tseng said.

Following the accusation, many netizens in Taiwan have criticized the government for funding such an "internet army," which plays into Beijing's hands, as China can easily exploit these comments by sharing them with the Chinese public, thus achieving its goal, Tseng noted.