Taipei, April 9 : Taiwan's National Security Bureau (NSB) Director-General Tsai Ming-yen has described China's attempts to infiltrate Taiwan as 'systematic, planned and targeted', with strategy shifting from recruiting mid-level military officers to rank-and-file enlisted personnel, local media reported on Thursday.

In his remarks at a meeting of the legislature's Foreign Affairs and National Defence Committee on Wednesday, Tsai said that Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has been using national security, intelligence operations and â??united frontâ?? efforts to carry out intelligence gathering and espionage in Taiwan. He accused CCP of using specific networks to screen targets through exchange activities and recruiting local collaborators to set up intelligence-gathering organisations, Taiwan's leading daily Taipei Times, reported.

According to him, China is also shifting targets to lower-ranking military personnel. Citing investigations into suspected espionage cases, he said that the CCP in its initial infiltration attempts primarily tried to recruit â??mid-level military officersâ?? who had easier access to classified intelligence, however, CCP is now targeting noncommissioned officers and enlisted personnel.

Meanwhile, a recent report released by the National Security Bureau (NSB) revealed that China is prepared to intervene in Taiwan's 'nine-in-one' local elections set to be held in November by launching attacks on the Taiwanese Government Service Network (GSN).

The report was submitted to the Legislative Yuan before the bureauâ??s scheduled briefing at the Foreign Affairs and National Defence Committee last week, Taipei Times reported. Mentioning details regarding China's cognitive warfare against Taiwan, the bureau said that the national security team has found about 13,000 suspicious internet accounts and 860,000 disputed messages.

In the report, the bureau said that the disputed messages focus on major foreign affairs, national defence and economic issues, which were made using Artificial Intelligence (AI) and shared through Chinese state media, Internet trolls, suspicious accounts and content farms.

The bureau said the GSN was attacked over 173.28 million times during the first quarter of 2026, adding that the actions could be part of Chinese interference in the 'nine-in-one' elections. It said they were created for intelligence-gathering, surveillance and data theft purposes.

"For the elections at the end of this year, China is expected to intervene by adopting a hybrid approach, including spreading disputed content using AI-powered deep-fake technology, publishing false public opinion surveys and setting up illegal betting rings," the bureau said.

It mentioned that Beijing will also likely try to sway election results by inviting tour groups to China, paying for their travel expenses, and buying agricultural products from pro-China cities or counties.

According to the report, Chinese military aircraft entered Taiwan's airspace more than 420 times during the first quarter of 2026, Taipei Times reported. The bureau said these actions were coordinated with Chinese naval vessels to carry out 10 "joint combat readiness patrols" and were aimed to test operational capabilities against Taiwan through periodic drills.

/IANS