Psychological Warfare: From the Kinmen Broadcasting Wall to the Paradigm Shift of AI Cognitive Operations

30-Second Overview:
The 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 the Kinmen Beishan Broadcasting Wall, Deng Lijun's warm appeals, and balloon-dropped "surrender foods" including pineapple cakes, instant noodles, and even underwear ^{1 2 3}. Entering 2024-2026, the balance of offense and defense has shifted; mainland China has turned to "AI industrialized cognitive warfare," while Taiwan has shifted to using digital penetration power 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 "gap in living standards" and the "temptation of political freedom." This was a highly physical-contact-dependent "heart-winning" process.

The Radio War: More Than Just Deng Lijun's Voice

Kinmen's Mashan Observation Post and Beishan Broadcasting Wall were the concrete 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: Radio Free Asia (RFA)'s broadcast call sign for mainland China included "Voice of Free China" (Voice of Free China). Program content covered "Reward Measures for Uprising," real-time news from Taiwan, and commentary on the chaotic situation of the Cultural Revolution ².
• Uprising Phase: The broadcasts repeatedly reported "Surrender Navigation Directions" and "Landing Signals," detailing how mainland pilots should 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 festivals, contrasting cross-strait living quality, making "fleeing to freedom" a concrete life choice.

Balloon-Dropped Item List: A Precise Display of "Lifestyle"

Balloon-dropped operations were not just about distributing leaflets; they were a visual and material exhibition of "modern life."

📝 Curator's Note: The "instant noodles" in the balloon-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 using digital penetration power and information asymmetry for counterattacks.

"Value Psychological Warfare" Penetrating the Firewall

Taiwan utilizes the communication 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 mainland China ⁶.
• Digital Democratic Wall: Utilizing blockchain technology or distributed storage to preserve records of protests deleted within mainland China (such as records of the White Paper Movement), positioning Taiwan as a "backup library for Mandarin democracy," which itself is 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 also shifted to "defensive psychological warfare" and "exposure-type psychological warfare":

• Exposure Mechanism: Rapidly using AI identification tools to dismantle CCP deepfake videos (such as the fake doctor case in 2025) and creating summary guides to reverse-push back into the mainland internet space, dissipating their official credibility ^{4 10}.
• Utilization of Information Asymmetry: Targeting social contradictions within mainland China (such as youth unemployment, economic downturns), disseminating true international financial analysis and comparative data, shaking mainland citizens' confidence in the narrative of "great power rise."

Paradigm Shift: From "Incentives" to "Identity"

Comparing history with the modern era, the essence of psychological warfare has undergone a profound displacement:

1. Media Transformation: From physical balloons and loudspeakers to digital algorithms, encrypted communications, and AI.
2. Target Shift: Historical psychological warfare aimed to "attract surrender" (individual breakthrough); modern psychological warfare aims to "export identity" and "guard the truth" (collective enlightenment).
3. 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 skepticism of the mainland population towards the authoritarian system. The defense line has retreated from Kinmen's beaches to every packet in the digital space.

Conclusion: Building a New Line of Resilience

Psychological warfare has never disappeared; it has only changed its shell. From the history of the Kinmen Broadcasting Wall, we learned the power of voice; in the challenges of modern AI and information warfare, we must learn how to use "truth" as the most powerful psychological warfare weapon. Taiwan, as the democratic lighthouse of the Mandarin-speaking world, its very existence is the most powerful psychological warfare against authoritarian systems.

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