30-Second Overview:
Cross-strait "psychological warfare" (psychological operations) is undergoing a fundamental transformation from "physical media" to "digital semantics." In the 1960s-1980s, Taiwan conducted incentive offensives against mainland China using Kinmen's Beishan Broadcasting Wall, Deng Lijun's warm appeals, and dropped items including pineapple cakes, instant noodles, and even underwear 1 2 3. Entering 2024-2026, the balance of power has shifted; mainland China has turned to "AI industrialized cognitive warfare," while Taiwan has shifted to using digital penetration for "democratic value dissemination" and "information asymmetry counterattacks" 4 5 6. This is a long-term evolution from competing for "stomachs" to competing for "brain cognition" and "value identity."
Voices and Stomachs: Historical Details of Taiwan's Psychological Warfare Against China
At the peak of the Cold War confrontation, Taiwan's psychological warfare strategy against mainland China was built on the foundation of "living standard gaps" and "political freedom appeals." This was a "heart-conquering" process highly dependent on physical contact.
The Radio War: More Than Just Deng Lijun's Voice
Kinmen's Mashan Observation Post and Beishan Broadcasting Wall were the physical embodiments of sonic weapons at that time 1. In addition to Deng Lijun's "Sweet Honey," the radio programs of that era were highly targeted:
- Specific Programs and Call Signs: The Voice of Free China (央廣)'s broadcast call signs for the mainland included "Voice of Free China" (Voice of Free China). Program content covered "Rewards for Uprising and Surrender," real-time news from Taiwan, and commentary on the chaotic situation of the Cultural Revolution 2.
- Uprising and Surrender Phase: Broadcasts repeatedly reported "Surrender Navigation Directions" and "Landing Signals," detailing how mainland pilots could fly to Taoyuan or Ching Chuan Kang Air Force Bases, promising rewards of thousands to tens of thousands of taels of gold 7.
- Psychological Anchors: Leveraging mainland citizens' longing for "home," warm broadcasts were played during holidays, contrasting cross-strait living quality, making "fleeing to freedom" a concrete life choice.
Dropped Items List: A Precise Display of "Lifestyle"
Dropped item operations were not merely about distributing leaflets; they were a visual and material exhibition of "modern life."
| Category | Specific Material List 3 8 | Psychological Intent |
|---|---|---|
| Surrender Food | Pineapple cakes, instant noodles (with seasoning packets), dried meat, sugar, pork fat cans, rations | Demonstrates the development of Taiwan's food industry and extreme abundance of materials. |
| Daily Necessities | Small crystal radios, watches, fountain pens, nail clippers, underwear, towels | Radios were used to encourage "listening to enemy stations"; clothing displayed textile industry achievements. |
| Medical Supplies | Tiger Balm, cold medicine, band-aids | Reflects care for the "physical health" of mainland compatriots and the gap in medical standards. |
| Political Credentials | Photos of Chiang Kai-shek, Surrender Certificates (guaranteeing gold and positions) | Provides a political safe haven and specific economic opportunities for turning over 9. |
📝 Curator's Note: The "instant noodles" in the dropped items were a highly shocking symbol in mainland China at that time. This industrial product, ready to eat upon opening and featuring multiple seasoning packets, represented an unimaginable "efficiency" and "abundance" to mainland citizens still under the rationing system.
Modern Evolution: Taiwan's Digital Penetration Strategy Against China
Entering 2026, traditional balloons and loudspeakers have moved to the background. Taiwan's psychological warfare against China has shifted to utilizing digital penetration and information asymmetry for counterattacks.
"Value Psychological Warfare" Penetrating the Firewall
Taiwan utilizes the communicative power of its free society to penetrate China's information control network. This is no longer simple "surrender rewards," but "cognitive enlightenment":
- Social Media Penetration: Through platforms like X (formerly Twitter), YouTube, and Telegram, Taiwan's civil society and government cooperate to disseminate information about democratic operations, social welfare, and the re-dissemination of blocked information within the mainland 6.
- Digital Democracy Wall: Utilizing blockchain technology or distributed storage to preserve records of protests deleted within the mainland (such as the White Paper Movement records), positioning Taiwan as a "backup repository for Mandarin-speaking democracy," which itself serves as a powerful psychological demonstration.
Counterattacks Against Cognitive Warfare
When China uses AI-generated disinformation to attack Taiwan, Taiwan's psychological warfare units (such as the Psychological Warfare Brigade) have shifted to "defensive psychological warfare" and "exposure-based psychological warfare":
- Exposure Mechanism: Rapidly using AI identification tools to dismantle CCP deepfake videos (such as the 2025 fake doctor case) and creating infographics to push back into the mainland's cyberspace, thereby eroding their official credibility 4 10.
- Utilization of Information Asymmetry: Targeting social contradictions within the mainland (such as youth unemployment, economic downturns), disseminating real international financial analysis and comparative data, shaking mainland citizens' confidence in the "great power rise" narrative.
Paradigm Shift: From "Incentives" to "Identity"
Comparing history and modernity, the essence of psychological warfare has undergone a profound displacement:
- Media Transformation: From physical balloons and loudspeakers to digital algorithms, encrypted communications, and AI.
- Goal Shift: Historical psychological warfare aimed to "attract surrender" (individual breakthrough); modern psychological warfare aims to "export identity" and "guard truth" (collective enlightenment).
- Convergence of Defense and Offense: In the digital age, defending against disinformation is simultaneously an "offensive" of "true information" against the adversary.
📝 Curator's Note: In the past, we exchanged "pineapple cakes" for the enemy soldier's stomach; now we exchange "facts and transparency" for the mainland's population's skepticism of authoritarian systems. The defense line has retreated from Kinmen's beaches to every packet in cyberspace.
Conclusion: Building a New Line of Resilience
Psychological warfare has never disappeared; it has only changed its shell. From the history of Kinmen's broadcasting walls, we learn the power of voice; in the challenges of modern AI and information warfare, we must learn how to utilize "truth" as the most powerful psychological warfare weapon. Taiwan, as the democratic lighthouse of the Mandarin-speaking world, its existence itself is the most powerful psychological warfare against authoritarian systems.
References
- https://www.bbc.com/ukchina/simp/vert-cul-47506739 — BBC News Chinese Report↩
- https://opinion.cw.com.tw/blog/profile/353/article/11914 — Independent Review @ World Column↩
- https://tcmb.culture.tw/zh-tw/detail?id=753758 — National Cultural Memory Bank↩
- https://www.nownews.com/news/6786985 — NOWnews Today News↩
- https://www.gwytb.gov.cn/m/speech/202601/t2026012812748417.htm — Mainland China State Council Taiwan Affairs Office Official Data (PRC Perspective)↩
- https://theintellectual.net/zh/famous-column/zeng-jianyuan/3083-202107e.html — The Intellectual Special Article↩
- https://tw.news.yahoo.com/%E7%B4%B0%E6%95%B8%E5%8F%8D%E5%85%B1%E7%BE%A9%E5%A3%AB-110352156.html — Yahoo News Report↩
- https://www.facebook.com/setnews/videos/614706516938986/ — Facebook Public Post↩
- http://board.matsu.idv.tw/boardview.php?board=143&pid=69902 — Matsu Information Network Archive↩
- Taiwan.md: Cognitive Warfare — The AI Industrialization Stage of Taiwan's Information Battlefield — Taiwan.md internal entry, recording the industrialization trend of China's AI cognitive warfare against Taiwan from 2024-2026↩