Expert claims up to 100,000 Chinese spies are active in Taiwan

At a conference co-hosted by the Friedrich Naumann Foundation and the European Values Center for Security Policy, German journalist Jurgen Kremb unveiled a report estimating that between 50,000 and 100,000 Chinese spies are active in Taiwan, vastly surpassing the National Security Bureau’s earlier figure of 5,000. Kremb clarified that these spies are primarily informants and “throwaway agents” who may not receive regular salaries from the Ministry of State Security but still serve its objectives.

He recounted being followed by a woman in Alishan who later was identified by the Investigation Bureau as a Chinese operative, a case that was shared with German and Danish intelligence services. The report cites up to 180,000 Chinese personnel dedicated to Taiwan-related intelligence, drawn from the Ministry of State Security, Ministry of Public Security, PLA and United Front Work Department, and notes that CCP members abroad routinely submit reports that can feed espionage efforts. European officials warned that the blend of high-tech spying, economic coercion and psychological manipulation perfected in Taiwan is already being applied against Western democracies, urging stronger measures to counter transnational repression.