China Offers Bounties for Taiwan-Linked Hackers Across Multiple Regions

China has intensified cyber tensions with Taiwan by issuing warrants and offering bounties for the capture of over 20 Taiwanese individuals suspected of orchestrating cyber attacks targeting critical sectors in mainland China, Hong Kong, and Macau. Chinese authorities, including the Guangzhou Public Security Bureau and the Taiwan Affairs Office, accuse these hackers of collaborating with U.S. forces and Taiwan's Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) to conduct cognitive and gray-zone warfare aimed at destabilizing China. Beijing's National Computer Virus Emergency Response Center released a report accusing Taiwan's Information, Communications and Electronic Force Command (ICEFOM) and affiliated advanced persistent threat groups of conducting years-long but largely ineffective cyber operations, which Taiwan denies. Taiwan's defense ministry and the DPP reject China's allegations as fabrications and misinformation aimed at intimidation and diverting attention from China's own cyber activities. The dispute highlights the ongoing geopolitical friction across the Taiwan Strait, with Taiwan asserting its sovereignty and criticizing China's jurisdictional claims while strengthening its defensive posture against cyber and other forms of aggression. These developments underscore the escalating cyber conflict intertwined with broader political and territorial tensions between China and Taiwan.