Security experts warn China is cultivating a fifth column for wartime sabotage
Security experts warn China is cultivating a fifth column for wartime sabotage
2026-04-10
China’s growing ambitions to annex Taiwan means its tactics are also broadening. They’re no longer limited to military exercises. Security experts say China is cultivating a fifth column that involves recruiting people from temple associations, gangs and even rank-and-file soldiers. Once war breaks out, these people will no longer hide in the shadows. Instead, they will become saboteurs who will work to undermine Taiwanese society – from attacking power infrastructure to spreading rumors. Let’s find out more.
Xi Jinping
Chinese leader
The motherland must be unified and it will inevitably be unified. This is the historical conclusion drawn from the 70-year development of cross-strait relations and it is also an inevitable requirement for the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation in the new era.
Chinese President Xi Jinping’s ambitions to annex Taiwan are intensifying. His tactics range from military aircraft harassing Taiwan to military exercises surrounding the nation. He’s also actively cultivating a fifth column in Taiwan.
Shen Ming-shih
Institute for National Defense and Security Research
In fact, the CCP is not only just trying to win people over with united front tactics. Ultimately, it hopes that the military will not resist. Its internal agents are organized into armies or bands of guerillas. When military actions begin, they will attack major internal targets. There may also be a small group of people who, at the beginning of the attack, will infiltrate and sabotage, such as destroying power infrastructure or releasing toxins so that it affects the troops’ morale or health. Or they can spread rumors. Broadly speaking, these people can be called a fifth column.
From gangsters to temple associations to junior military officers: all are fifth column recruitment targets.
Ho Cheng-hui
Taiwan National Security Institute
They might even incite disgruntled people or criminals to do these things. Or they could tell you that our military has already collapsed or surrendered, conveying that it would be better to surrender than resist.
Even jewelry stores have assisted China to make contact with Taiwanese soldiers, prosecutors say, and have lured them with low-interest loans.
Wang Ting-yu
Lawmaker (DPP)
When you borrow money, NT$5,000, NT$10,000, and accumulate it to a certain amount, he will tell you: It’s OK if you can’t pay it back, we’re all friends. This NT$50,000 sum can be waived. Just get hold of any document from the military to prove you are a soldier. I will tell the financial backers behind me that soldiers are usually short of money, so we can write off your debt of NT$50,000. If you don’t do this, they’ll expose your previous actions and you might have to pay a heavy price. You’ll have no choice but to submit to their demands.
When it comes to the fifth column, the pro-China China Unification Promotion Party is probably the group that is treated with most suspicion in Taiwanese society.
Chang An-le
China Unification Promotion Party
We are not a fifth column. We have made it very clear that we will step forward when the time comes to act as a bridge for peace across the Taiwan Strait, focusing on protecting ordinary citizens. It’s that simple.
Faced with a fifth column colluding with foreign forces, Taiwan’s national security can only be ensured by heightening people’s vigilance and strengthening an anti-infiltration defense network.
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#spies #fifthcolumn #sabotage
誰是內應? 中國滲透培養"第五縱隊" 黑幫.宮廟.軍官成對象
2026-04-10
面對中國併吞台灣野心日益加劇，手段已經不侷限於環台軍演、軍機擾台，國安單位更揭露，中國開始在台培養"第五縱隊"，且招募對象從宮廟、黑幫、乃至於到基層官兵，一旦戰爭爆發，這些人將不再隱藏，而是成為內應，直攻台灣關鍵基礎設施。
[[中國國家主席 習近平]]
"祖國必須統一，也必然統一，這是70載兩岸關係，發展歷程的歷史定論，也是新時代中華民族，偉大復興的必然要求"
中國國家主席習近平併吞台灣野心日益加劇，手段從軍機擾台、到環台軍演，也積極在台培養第五縱隊。
[[國防研究院國家安全所研究員 沈明室]]
“其實中共他不只是統戰拉攏，他其實到最後是希望軍人不要抵抗，他這個內應有的是組織成軍隊，或者是游擊隊，當軍事行動開始的時候，攻擊內部的主要目標，他也可能是少部分的人，在攻擊行動剛開始的時候，滲透破壞、破壞電力，或者是放毒，讓軍隊的士氣或者是健康受到影響，或者造謠，廣泛來講這些人的行為，這些人就叫第五縱隊”
從黑幫、宮廟、到基層軍官，都是第五縱隊招募對象。
[[台灣安保協會副秘書長 何澄輝]]
“甚至去鼓動一些平常就心懷不滿，或是犯罪分子去做這些事情，或者說告訴你說，我們國軍已經崩潰了，已經投降了，造成告訴你說，與其抵抗不如投降會比較好”
就連銀樓，也曾被檢方查出協助中國接觸我國軍官，以低利貸款誘惑軍人。
[[立委(民) 王定宇]]
“當你借了錢，一次五千塊，一次一萬塊，累積到一定的額度，他就會告訴你，你還不出來沒關係，我們都當做朋友，這五萬塊可以免掉，你從部隊裡面隨便拿個文件，證明你是軍人，我跟我們後面提供的金主說，軍人比較沒錢，免掉你這五萬塊債務，你不提供，你之前的行為被揭露，你可能要付出很慘痛的代價，那就只好甘於他予取予求”
提到第五縱隊，台灣社會裡，意識形態親中的中華統一促進黨，恐怕是最常被懷疑對象。
[[中華統一促進黨總裁 張安樂]]
“不是第五縱隊，我們講得很清楚，我們到時候是要出來，做兩岸和平的橋樑，怎麼樣保護一般老百姓，就這麼簡單”
面對第五縱隊的裡應外合，唯有國人提高警覺，增強反滲透防護網，才能確保台灣國家安全。
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