Minister of the Overseas Community Affairs Council (OCAC) Hsu Chia-ching (???) on Thursday confirmed that one of its mandarin-language learning centers in France was subject to a cyberattack by a Chinese “overseas police station” last year, citing information from the French authorities.
China has long used cyberattacks to exert influence over Taiwanese diaspora communities and to sway their stance on Taiwan through various united front tactics, Hsu told lawmakers during a committee hearing at the Legislature.
Citing an example that happened last April, Hsu said the website and Facebook page of the Taiwan Center for Mandarin Learning (TCML) in Paris was hacked and a subsequent investigation by the French police later confirmed the incident had been carried out by a Chinese “overseas police station.”
The OCAC minister, however, did not give details about the cyberattack except to say that one of its two centers in Paris informed the French authorities immediately after the incident.
There are currently two mandarin-language learning centers in France, one at L’encrier Chinois in Paris and the other at Association Linguistique Culturelle Chinoise in Seine-Saint-Denis.
In recent years, the Chinese Communist Party has set up “overseas police stations,” around the world, supposedly to serve Chinese nationals living abroad all the while also engaging in work such as inducing criminals to return to China and monitoring Chinese immigrants, Hsu said.
Incidences of such cyberattacks by these “police stations” have been reported elsewhere, including in Australia, Canada and Central and South America, she added.
According to the minister, since the April cyberattack, efforts have been made to strengthen the information security of Taiwan’s mandarin-language learning centers overseas.
At a press conference later Thursday, Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) spokesman Jeff Liu (???) said that work by Taiwan to serve its expatriate communities overseas has not been affected by China’s actions.
The TCML is currently promoted by three agencies, including MOFA, OCAC and the Ministry of Education (MOE).
The OCAC is responsible for providing assistance to overseas Taiwanese groups and schools, while MOFA handles government-to-government communications, and the MOE handles exchanges between schools.
To date, 66 TCMLs have been established around the world, according to information on the center’s website.
Source: Focus Taiwan News Channel