Overview

• Police in Xiamen offered rewards of up to 10,000 yuan (about $1,400) for tips and published photos, names and Taiwan ID numbers of 18 alleged members of a psychological operations unit.
• State media accused the named personnel of running smear websites, creating secessionist games, producing fake videos, operating illegal radios and leveraging outside resources to shape opinion.
• Taiwan’s defence ministry rejected the allegations as despotic propaganda and “cognitive warfare,” saying Beijing aims to divide public opinion on the island.
• The move followed President William Lai’s National Day pledge to develop a “T‑Dome” air‑defence network and was accompanied by denunciations from Chinese officials and state outlets.
• Analysts and reporters said arrests are unlikely because Taiwan is outside Beijing’s legal reach and its officers rarely travel to the mainland, noting a similar bounty in June targeting 20 alleged military hackers.