China points bounty for Taiwan PsyOps unit allegedly spreading separatist messages

Chinese police on Saturday (October 11, 2025) supplied rewards of $1,400 for details about 18 folks it stated had been Taiwanese army psychological operations (PsyOp) officers spreading “separatist” messages, a day after Taiwan pledged to spice up its defences.

China views democratically-governed Taiwan as its personal territory, over the robust objections of the federal government in Taipei, and has elevated its army and political stress towards the island.

The public safety bureau within the Chinese metropolis of Xiamen, which sits reverse Taiwan on the opposite facet of the Taiwan Strait, stated the 18 had been core members of Taiwan army’s “psychological warfare unit”, and revealed their photos, names and Taiwan identification card numbers.

The unit handles duties similar to disinformation, intelligence gathering, psychological warfare and the published of propaganda, the safety bureau stated in a press release. “For a long time, they plotted to incite separatist activities,” the bureau stated, including there could be rewards of as much as 10,000 yuan ($1,402) for ideas resulting in their arrest.

“They launched web sites for smear campaigns, created seditious video games to incite secession, produced faux video content material to mislead folks, operated unlawful radios for ‘infiltration’, and manipulated public opinion with assets from ‘exterior forces’,” the Xinhua State News Agency stated in a separate report.

Taiwan’s Defence Ministry stated the accusations mirrored the “despotic and pig-headed thinking of an authoritarian regime… trying to divide our people, belittle our government, and conduct cognitive warfare.” China has repeatedly issued such experiences that “exploit the free flow of information in our democratic society to piece together and fabricate personal data,” the Ministry stated. “Defending national security and protecting the safety and well-being of the people is the unshirkable duty of every military officer and soldier,” it stated.

The needed discover is essentially symbolic provided that Taiwanese intelligence officers don’t overtly go to the nation and China’s authorized system has no jurisdiction on the island.

On Friday (October 10, 2025), President Lai Ching-te pledged better efforts to spice up Taiwan’s defences, calling on China to resign using power to grab the island. China reacted with anger, calling Mr. Ching-te a troublemaker and a “war-maker”.

In June 2025, China issued an analogous bounty for the arrest of 20 folks that Beijing stated had been Taiwanese army hackers. Taiwan dismissed that menace, saying it might not be intimidated.