TAIPEI, Taiwan—Taiwan’s top intelligence agency on June 14 launched a website inviting Chinese nationals to submit intelligence tips, saying it was providing a secure channel for what it says is a growing number of people disillusioned with life in China.
Taiwan’s National Security Bureau said in a press release that the new platform was modeled on similar reporting channels used by intelligence agencies in the United States, the UK, and Israel, and would “expand the bureau’s diverse intelligence sources.”
The bureau said it expected Chinese nationals to use the website, citing “mounting difficulties” facing China's economy and what it described as Beijing's “tight” political control.
“Coupled with a growing range of social and livelihood-related problems, these conditions have fueled public discontent,” the bureau added. “As a result, an increasing number of individuals have approached relevant agencies in Taiwan, wishing to provide various types of information.”
Video
The website prominently displays a one-minute promotional video that the bureau said was generated by artificial intelligence. It is narrated by an unnamed Chinese civil servant who describes witnessing colleagues being taken away for investigation without explanation, which the bureau says is intended to depict a “pervasive atmosphere that everyone is on edge under China's totalitarian regime.”The video begins with the word “Change” in simplified Chinese.
“Ah, yet another person has been taken away,” the narrator says in Mandarin, as the video shows a man being escorted out of a room by two others.
“When I entered the system back then, I was just looking for stability. Having a stable job meant I could support my family and give them a good life. But now everything has changed."
The narrator continues, observing that everyone has been dutifully carrying out their work as before and no one has committed any wrongdoing, yet lately the old comrades “are inexplicably vanishing one by one.”
“Just thinking about it makes me uneasy,” the narrator says.
The video ends with the civil servant buying a mobile phone from a street vendor.
“Now is the time to change,” the narrator says, while showing the civil servant typing on his new phone.
Below the video on the website is a button that says "leave a message."
The bureau said that it was aware of the cybersecurity risks associated with Chinese-made mobile phones and China's internet surveillance, and that the website was therefore designed with a strong emphasis on "information and communication security" and "identity confidentiality."
Visitors to the webpage would be directed through different steps depending on whether they are in China or overseas, and guided by six security guidelines before completing the reporting process. The measures include using non-Chinese mobile devices, restoring devices to factory settings, connecting via Wi-Fi networks that do not require real-name authentication, using virtual private networks, accessing the site through Western web browsers, and enabling private or incognito browsing modes.
The bureau said it will continue to review and refine its intelligence operations in response to changes in China to safeguard Taiwan’s national security and interests.
“Last year, CIA’s Mandarin video campaign reached many Chinese citizens, and we know there are many more searching for a way to improve their lives and change their country for the better,” CIA Director John Ratcliffe said in a statement in February.
China
In China, more than 1 million people have been “investigated and punished” since Xi Jinping became the country's leader in 2012 and launched an anti-corruption campaign, according to a 2026 report published by Freedom House.“Corruption remains rooted in the one-party system, which does not tolerate the institutions necessary for effectively addressing graft—such as a free press, independent civil society groups, and impartial courts,” the report states.
The report also points out that violations of due process “are widespread in practice,” that legal counselors are “meant to serve the state,” and that “extrajudicial forms of detention” are common.