00:11What appears to be a friendly exchange between the Coast Guards of China and Taiwan is fake.
00:17On Wednesday afternoon, China released a video showing what it described as an encounter with Taiwan's Coast Guard.
00:23In one segment, the Chinese side calls for a cross-strait unity,
00:27specifically names the Taiwanese patrol vessel and includes what it presents as the Taiwan-sized response.
00:33But Taiwan says the exchange was fabricated.
00:52Taiwan in recent years has reported increasing Chinese incursions in its waters.
00:58These are seen as grey zone operations, deliberate provocations that fall short of acts of war.
01:05Now, even amid these maritime tensions, Taiwan has to contend with cognitive warfare.
01:10Experts say, for the past few years, China has regularly released videos on the fourth week of each month
01:16showcasing its activities in the waters around the Kimmen Islands.
01:20Many of these videos are too flawless to come from real maritime operations and clearly appear to be edited.
01:28So they are recycling all the material as part of their propagandas in the future for this year.
01:34So that's why we see a lot of photography and they just edit it, then reuse that for propaganda purpose.
01:40It is hard for normal people to comprehend what it's actually like for going out on the sea.
01:48They are exploiting the kind of knowledge and information and experience gaps that most people do not really have.
01:55Besides making fake videos, China has also enhanced its cognitive warfare with the use of AI.
02:02A recent OpenAI report indicates that China is using ChatGPT for political ends.
02:07The investigation found that China has created a huge number of social media accounts
02:12and uses AI-generated content to target accounts supporting Taiwan.
02:18Agents of the Chinese states have used AI to fabricate identities and legal documents
02:24to intimidate overseas dissidents,
02:26and reportedly instructed ChatGPT to devise social media campaigns aimed at discrediting Japan's Prime Minister,
02:33Takeichi Sanai, as she was said to take office.
02:36The impact for now could be limited, but maybe not for long.
03:02Experts warned that as the U.S. and China competes over AI,
03:05the rivalry also impacts Beijing's surveillance and information operations,
03:10both domestically and abroad.
03:13Alex Chan and Alan Lu for Taiwan Plus
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