Psychological Warfare: From Kinmen's Broadcasting Walls to the Paradigm Shift of AI Cognitive Operations

30-Second Overview:
Cross-strait "psychological warfare" is undergoing a fundamental transformation from "physical media" to "digital semantics." In the 1960s-1980s, Taiwan conducted inducement offensives against mainland China using Kinmen's 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 offensive and defensive postures have shifted; mainland China has turned to "AI industrialized cognitive warfare," while Taiwan has shifted to utilizing 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."

Sound 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 "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 incarnations of sonic weapons at that time ¹. Beyond 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 the "Measures for Rewarding Defection and Uprising," real-time news from Taiwan, and commentary on the chaotic situation of the Cultural Revolution ².
• Defection and Uprising Phase: Broadcasts repeatedly reported "surrender headings" and "landing signals," detailing how mainland pilots could fly to Taoyuan or Ching Chuan Kang Air Force Base, promising rewards of thousands to tens of thousands of taels of gold ⁷.
• Psychological Anchors: Leveraging the mainland populace's longing for "home," warm broadcasts were played during festivals, contrasting cross-strait living quality, making "fleeing to freedom" a concrete life choice.

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

Balloon-dropped operations were not merely about distributing leaflets; they were a visual and material exhibition about "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, which could be eaten immediately upon opening and came with 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 mainland China ⁶.
• Digital Democracy Wall: Utilizing blockchain technology or decentralized storage to preserve records of internal mainland protests (such as the White Paper Movement records), Taiwan serves as a "backup library for Mandarin-speaking 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 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 2025 fake doctor case) and creating summary guides to reverse-push back into the mainland internet space, thereby undermining their official credibility ^{4 10}.
• Utilization of Information Asymmetry: Targeting internal social contradictions in mainland China (such as youth unemployment and economic slowdown), disseminating authentic international financial analysis and comparative data to shake mainland citizens' confidence in the "great power rise" narrative.

Paradigm Shift: From "Inducement" 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 defection" (individual breakthrough); modern psychological warfare aims to "export identity" and "guard the truth" (group 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 mainland populace's skepticism toward authoritarian systems. 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 Kinmen's broadcasting walls, we learn the power of sound; 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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