Alice Su
@aliceysu.bsky.social
Covering China and Taiwan & co-hosting Drum Tower pod @TheEconomist. Former Beijing bureau chief @latimes, previously in the Middle East. [email protected]
It was a privilege to report this story, to read the files, and to go deep into Taiwan's unresolved past. And only possible through brilliant research by Constance Chang, photography by An Rong Xu, and editing by @abbiefs.bsky.social. I hope you will read and enjoy:
www.economist.com/1843/2025/05...
www.economist.com/1843/2025/05...
The terrible secrets of Taiwan’s Stasi files
Researchers have unearthed the surveillance records of Taiwan’s former dictatorship. But the revelations inside could tear society apart
www.economist.com
May 4, 2025 at 2:20 PM
It was a privilege to report this story, to read the files, and to go deep into Taiwan's unresolved past. And only possible through brilliant research by Constance Chang, photography by An Rong Xu, and editing by @abbiefs.bsky.social. I hope you will read and enjoy:
www.economist.com/1843/2025/05...
www.economist.com/1843/2025/05...
In the meantime Taiwan is still dealing with spying, infiltration, and distrust - only now it's the Communist Party that's co-opting members of Taiwanese society as informants. And those who were spied on worry that they people they trust most could sell them out again.
May 4, 2025 at 2:20 PM
In the meantime Taiwan is still dealing with spying, infiltration, and distrust - only now it's the Communist Party that's co-opting members of Taiwanese society as informants. And those who were spied on worry that they people they trust most could sell them out again.
But the results for Taiwan, so far, have been troubling. Opening up a partial and unreliable record of the past caused so much harm and hurt that the surveillance files have been made private again. Now only those targeted for surveillance, or their descendants, can see them.
May 4, 2025 at 2:20 PM
But the results for Taiwan, so far, have been troubling. Opening up a partial and unreliable record of the past caused so much harm and hurt that the surveillance files have been made private again. Now only those targeted for surveillance, or their descendants, can see them.
Having just moved from a similar surveillance state across the strait, only with its methods updated and supercharged by 21st-century technology, I also wanted to imagine what might happen if that kind of surveillance regime ever fell apart and we got to look inside.
May 4, 2025 at 2:20 PM
Having just moved from a similar surveillance state across the strait, only with its methods updated and supercharged by 21st-century technology, I also wanted to imagine what might happen if that kind of surveillance regime ever fell apart and we got to look inside.
I was fascinated by the methods of Taiwan's former regime - how it used people against each other, using fear and surveillance for control - and how the lack of complete reckoning with that past still affects Taiwan's society today.
May 4, 2025 at 2:20 PM
I was fascinated by the methods of Taiwan's former regime - how it used people against each other, using fear and surveillance for control - and how the lack of complete reckoning with that past still affects Taiwan's society today.
But he also denied ever receiving payment for informing. And he had been open with his friend Yang the whole time. Both were upset that the files had been opened so late and so partially, and seemed to be causing more scandal and division than accountability.
May 4, 2025 at 2:20 PM
But he also denied ever receiving payment for informing. And he had been open with his friend Yang the whole time. Both were upset that the files had been opened so late and so partially, and seemed to be causing more scandal and division than accountability.
Ang Kaim, a historian at Academia Sinica, is listed as one of Yang's informants in the files. He told us how he was recruited - by an agent threatening him just after a prominent dissident had been interrogated and then died on a university campus - and why he complied.
May 4, 2025 at 2:20 PM
Ang Kaim, a historian at Academia Sinica, is listed as one of Yang's informants in the files. He told us how he was recruited - by an agent threatening him just after a prominent dissident had been interrogated and then died on a university campus - and why he complied.
That's the tricky thing about the files. Even when they were made public, they were incomplete. Security agencies insisted on blacking out the agents' names. Informants were also given code names for anonymity. Some of the information in the files was also fabricated.
May 4, 2025 at 2:20 PM
That's the tricky thing about the files. Even when they were made public, they were incomplete. Security agencies insisted on blacking out the agents' names. Informants were also given code names for anonymity. Some of the information in the files was also fabricated.
Another target was Fan Yun, a current legislator who was involved in student democracy movements in the late 1980s. She found more than 1,000 pages of notes on her stretching over 9 years. Several of her fellow activists had been informants. She still doesn't know who they are.
May 4, 2025 at 2:20 PM
Another target was Fan Yun, a current legislator who was involved in student democracy movements in the late 1980s. She found more than 1,000 pages of notes on her stretching over 9 years. Several of her fellow activists had been informants. She still doesn't know who they are.
One target who looked at their files was Yang Bi-chuan, a dissident who used to teach underground classes on Taiwan's history. He spent 7 years imprisoned on Green Island. He found that a favourite student, one who'd risen to become a prominent DPP politician, was an informant.
May 4, 2025 at 2:20 PM
One target who looked at their files was Yang Bi-chuan, a dissident who used to teach underground classes on Taiwan's history. He spent 7 years imprisoned on Green Island. He found that a favourite student, one who'd risen to become a prominent DPP politician, was an informant.
They are full of secrets. Salacious details about broken marriages, exploitable vices, and worst of all, betrayals. Agents recruited informants across Taiwanese society to spy on suspected communists or dissidents. They could be your neighbour, your nanny, or your best friend.
May 4, 2025 at 2:20 PM
They are full of secrets. Salacious details about broken marriages, exploitable vices, and worst of all, betrayals. Agents recruited informants across Taiwanese society to spy on suspected communists or dissidents. They could be your neighbour, your nanny, or your best friend.
The files are kept in an earthquake-proof, temperature-controlled vault on the outskirts of Taipei. They're part of Taiwan's "political files", all the records relating to rights abuses from its one-party era. Stacked together, they would create a tower nearly 6x higher than 101
May 4, 2025 at 2:20 PM
The files are kept in an earthquake-proof, temperature-controlled vault on the outskirts of Taipei. They're part of Taiwan's "political files", all the records relating to rights abuses from its one-party era. Stacked together, they would create a tower nearly 6x higher than 101
Thank you so much for reading and listening!
May 4, 2025 at 2:15 PM
Thank you so much for reading and listening!
This is the 5th disruption to Taiwan's undersea cables this year. Some of the breakages are natural. TW authorities suspected Chinese involvement in another cut near Keelung in January, but couldn't board the ship to inspect. This time around they may get more info
focustaiwan.tw/politics/202...
focustaiwan.tw/politics/202...
Ship, Chinese crew detained after Penghu undersea cable severed - Focus Taiwan
A Togolese-registered vessel and its Chinese crew have been detained after a submarine communications cable linking Taiwan and Penghu was severed Tuesday.
focustaiwan.tw
February 25, 2025 at 7:26 AM
This is the 5th disruption to Taiwan's undersea cables this year. Some of the breakages are natural. TW authorities suspected Chinese involvement in another cut near Keelung in January, but couldn't board the ship to inspect. This time around they may get more info
focustaiwan.tw/politics/202...
focustaiwan.tw/politics/202...
Most of the recent spy cases have been uncovered through internal reporting. Taiwan's defence ministry says that's a sign its anti-spy education is working. But a govt report says Chinese intelligence made more than 1,700 online recruitment attempts in 2.5 years. It is hard for Taiwan to keep up
February 7, 2025 at 8:26 AM
Most of the recent spy cases have been uncovered through internal reporting. Taiwan's defence ministry says that's a sign its anti-spy education is working. But a govt report says Chinese intelligence made more than 1,700 online recruitment attempts in 2.5 years. It is hard for Taiwan to keep up
Defeatism is part of China's recruiting strategy too. Some soldiers and officers collaborate in exchange for the promise of protection when war happens. One lieutenant allegedly agreed to work w China in exchange for Thai passports for his family, according to the prosecutor
February 7, 2025 at 8:18 AM
Defeatism is part of China's recruiting strategy too. Some soldiers and officers collaborate in exchange for the promise of protection when war happens. One lieutenant allegedly agreed to work w China in exchange for Thai passports for his family, according to the prosecutor
In a time of crisis, surrender videos might weaken Taiwanese society's will to resist. "They can be used to tell ordinary Taiwanese people, ‘Look, even your army is not loyal to your country,’” says a lawyer who' worked on many military-espionage cases.
February 7, 2025 at 8:15 AM
In a time of crisis, surrender videos might weaken Taiwanese society's will to resist. "They can be used to tell ordinary Taiwanese people, ‘Look, even your army is not loyal to your country,’” says a lawyer who' worked on many military-espionage cases.
In return they get reductions on their debt or payment through cryptocurrency. Some also get money through middlemen running fraudulent e-commerce accounts. Naive soldiers think it's easy cash. But the content they're making may serve psychological purposes
February 7, 2025 at 8:13 AM
In return they get reductions on their debt or payment through cryptocurrency. Some also get money through middlemen running fraudulent e-commerce accounts. Naive soldiers think it's easy cash. But the content they're making may serve psychological purposes
Some of the soldiers will allegedly wear their Taiwanese military uniforms and pose with a PRC flag, promising not to fight. Or they'll sign oaths vowing loyalty to the motherland if a war breaks out
February 7, 2025 at 8:13 AM
Some of the soldiers will allegedly wear their Taiwanese military uniforms and pose with a PRC flag, promising not to fight. Or they'll sign oaths vowing loyalty to the motherland if a war breaks out
I spoke w a special prosecutor who deals with national-security cases in Taiwan. He told us China is targeting younger soldiers through underground lending networks and online gaming platforms. They're offered starting payments of 1-200,000NTD ($3-6k) for military intelligence or surrender videos
February 7, 2025 at 8:13 AM
I spoke w a special prosecutor who deals with national-security cases in Taiwan. He told us China is targeting younger soldiers through underground lending networks and online gaming platforms. They're offered starting payments of 1-200,000NTD ($3-6k) for military intelligence or surrender videos