Taiwan has launched a dramatic public campaign to encourage defections from the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).
Taiwan’s National Security Bureau (NSB) established on June 14 a “Contact Portal for Chinese Citizens,” openly inviting people inside China—including overseas dissidents and officials within the Chinese system—to submit political, military, economic, and social intelligence. At the same time, the NSB released a one-minute promotional video titled “Change,” encouraging Chinese citizens to actively provide intelligence and have the courage to make a change.
The NSB issued a press release on the morning of June 14 stating that, in order to broaden its collection of political, military, economic, and social intelligence concerning China, it had established the “Contact Portal for Chinese Citizens” in accordance with Taiwan’s National Intelligence Services Act and with reference to the practices of intelligence agencies in countries including the United States, the United Kingdom, and Israel.
The agency said the portal is intended to make it easier for Chinese citizens to voluntarily contact Taiwan and provide intelligence, thereby expanding the diversity of its intelligence sources.
The NSB further stated that in recent years, China’s economic difficulties, continued high-pressure political governance, and growing social and livelihood problems have fueled public dissatisfaction. According to the agency, an increasing number of people have proactively reached out to Taiwanese authorities seeking to provide various types of intelligence.
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As a result, the NSB recently completed the “Contact Portal for Chinese Citizens” website, describing it as a secure channel through which Chinese citizens can submit intelligence.
The NSB stated that, given the Chinese government’s extensive internet surveillance and the cybersecurity risks associated with Chinese-made mobile phones, it placed a high priority on cybersecurity and identity protection when designing the portal. Upon entering the website, users are first asked whether they are located inside mainland China or overseas, and are then instructed to follow six security guidelines before submitting their information.
The six recommended security measures are: Use a foreign-brand smartphone or tablet; restore the device to its factory settings; connect to a Wi-Fi network that does not require real-name registration; Use a VPN; Use a web browser developed by a Western company and Enable incognito or private browsing mode.
Regarding the intelligence submitted by Chinese citizens, the NSB said it would use technological methods to carefully screen the information, after which a professional team would evaluate and verify it before carrying out any follow-up contact.
China has blocked the website but according to a Reuters report many Chinese citizens utilize VPNs to check such blocked sites including Western social media and search engines.
Promotional video
Alongside the launch of the “Contact Portal for Chinese Citizens,” the NSB also released a one-minute AI-generated promotional video titled “Change.” The video portrays a public official living under the CCP’s authoritarian system who witnesses colleagues being investigated and removed from their positions without apparent cause. It depicts an office atmosphere in which everyone lives in fear and uncertainty about their future. Through the video, the NSB encourages people both inside China and overseas to actively provide intelligence and have the courage to make a change.
The NSB concluded by stating that it will continue to adjust and improve its intelligence operations in response to changes in the international environment and developments in China. It said these efforts are intended to provide an avenue for Chinese citizens who identify with democratic values to assist in research and intelligence gathering on China, thereby helping safeguard Taiwan’s national security and interests.
X user “Mr. Tao Miao” (淘喵先生) commented that the NSB’s initiative represents “the most dramatic public campaign to encourage defections in recent years,” claiming that it has fundamentally intensified the sense of insecurity within the CCP system. He argued that the campaign’s most effective aspect is that it targets what he described as the regime’s deepest fear:
“No matter how loyal you are to the regime, there is no guarantee that you won’t be the next person to be purged.”
He continued: “This is not merely a battle for intelligence—it is also a sophisticated campaign of psychological warfare. Using a practical and highly targeted strategy tailored to local conditions, Taiwan has carved a crack through the CCP’s Great Firewall that leads directly to Taipei. When ‘absolute loyalty’ is no longer a guarantee of survival, how many insiders at the core of the system, driven to despair, will decide to risk bypassing the firewall and switch sides? The intelligence struggle against the CCP has entered an entirely new and highly volatile chapter. The real drama is only just beginning.”
YouTube commentator “North America Wang Lü” (北美王律) said in a June 14 program that the one-minute promotional video produced by Taiwan’s National Security Bureau (NSB) was “more powerful than any missile.” He argued that the video accurately reflects the current situation in Zhongnanhai, pointing to the purge of senior officers in the Rocket Force, the successive disappearances of China’s foreign minister and defense minister, and the climate of fear in which even lower-level local officials reportedly worry that decisions made decades ago could be reinvestigated.
The commentator said the video’s intended audience is people within the Chinese system—military personnel, police officers, and civil servants—who have access to sensitive information and live under constant pressure. In his view, Taiwan’s information campaign was particularly effective because it was not confronting those inside the system, but speaking directly to them psychologically.
He paraphrased its message as follows: “Today you may be risking everything for this system and helping conceal the truth, but tomorrow you could be the next one to be purged. If everyone lives in fear, why not leave yourself a way out? Why not use the intelligence you possess to secure freedom and safety for yourself and your family? This is not betrayal—it is awakening. It is a digital uprising against the system to save yourself and your country.”
The commentator went on to argue that Beijing had long believed it could influence Taiwan through overseas propaganda, cognitive warfare, intimidation, and coercion. However, he said, Taiwan’s greatest strength has never been missiles, but democracy, freedom, and transparency. According to him, by openly inviting the 1.4 billion Chinese people who seek change or are dissatisfied with the status quo to participate, Taiwan has fundamentally shifted the strategic balance. He added that any political system that relies on surveillance and intimidation to sustain itself is inherently fragile.
He further claimed that the CCP’s intelligence network is now facing an unprecedented risk of internal collapse. Addressing public officials and professionals in China, he said:
“When you see this message, remember that the opportunity for change is right in front of you. Use a foreign-made phone to cross that firewall. The first piece of intelligence you submit could become the final domino that brings down the wall of dictatorship.”
In closing, North America Wang Lü declared: “Taiwan has fired the opening shot in a reverse united front campaign. In this intelligence war without gunfire, the ultimate victors will be the people who embrace democratic values and have the courage to make a change. The bell of uprising has already rung—this time Zhongnanhai is truly panicking.”
Online comments
A number of online comments expressed support for Taiwan’s NSB, including:
- “Well done, Taiwan’s National Security Bureau!”
- “Looking forward to Taiwan’s National Security Bureau reaping a major intelligence harvest.”
- “The CCP talks every day about using united front tactics against Taiwan. Now Taiwan has launched a reverse united front campaign against the CCP—didn’t see that coming, did they?”
- “If the CCP dares recruit Taiwanese as spies, then Taiwan’s counter-infiltration efforts are only fair.”
- “It’s time to launch a counteroffensive against the mainland!”
- “The Chinese people deserve democracy and freedom. Marxist-Leninist communism, an imported ideology, should be discarded.”
- “Only when the Communist Party collapses can ordinary people in China have a democratic and free future.”
- “Chinese people, seize this opportunity for democracy.”
- “People of China, this is a valuable opportunity. Let us embrace democracy and freedom together, break free from the constraints, and move toward the beacon of liberty.”
