Police in China have issued a notice and offered rewards of up to 10,000 yuan (£1,000) for information on 18 Taiwanese military psychological operations officers accused of spreading separatist propaganda.
It came a day after Taiwanese president Lai Ching-te said Taipei will build a new multi-layered air defence system called "T-Dome" during the celebrations to mark the National Day with a lavish military parade.
The Public Security Bureau (PSB) in the Chinese city of Xiamen, which sits opposite Taiwan on the other side of the Taiwan Strait, released pictures, names, and Taiwan identity card numbers of the 18 people, identified as core members of the Taiwan military's "psychological warfare unit".
The security bureau said the "psychological warfare unit" handles tasks such as disinformation, intelligence gathering, psychological warfare and the broadcast of propaganda.
"For a long time they plotted to incite separatist activities," the bureau said, adding there would be rewards of up to 10,000 yuan for tips leading to their arrest.
It said the unit allegedly launched websites for smear campaigns, created seditious video games to incite secession, produced fake video content to mislead people, operated illegal radios for "infiltration", and manipulated public opinion with resources from "external forces", the state Xinhua news agency said in a separate report.
It said the group’s true goal was to promote “Taiwan independence” and conduct activities to incite secession.
The bureau also called on Taiwanese people to “draw a clear line” with separatist forces and urged them to work together with the mainland to oppose “Taiwan independence” activities.
Taiwan's defence ministry rejected the accusations as “ crude” efforts to undermine the Taiwanese government and conduct cognitive warfare.
It said accusations reflected the "despotic and pig-headed thinking of an authoritarian regime ... trying to divide our people, belittle our government, and conduct cognitive warfare."
Democratically governed Taiwan has come under growing military and political pressure from China, which claims the island as its own despite strong opposition from Taipei and has vowed to reclaim the island.
China has repeatedly issued such reports that "exploit the free flow of information in our democratic society to piece together and fabricate personal data," the ministry said.
"Defending national security and protecting the safety and well-being of the people is the unshirkable duty of every military officer and soldier," it said.
The wanted notice is largely symbolic, given that Taiwanese intelligence officers do not openly visit the country, and China's legal system has no jurisdiction on the island.
It came as China lashed out at Mr Lai’s Double Tenth Day speech and again called him a stubborn “troublemaker” and "war-maker".
China’s Taiwan Affairs Office also warned that Mr Lai’s “words and actions will only undermine peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait” and “seriously harm” Taiwan’s economy as well as the well-being of its people.
In his speech to mark the 114th anniversary of the founding of the Republic of China, Taiwan’s official title, Mr Lai vowed to increase the country’s defence spending to exceed 3 per cent of GDP next year and increase 5 per cent by 2030.
He called on China to renounce the use of force to seize the island.
For the first time, he publicly mentioned Taiwan’s intentions to deploy a “T-Dome” air defence system, without giving many details.
"The increase in defence spending has a purpose; it is a clear necessity to counter enemy threats and a driving force for developing our defence industries," he said.
"We will accelerate our building of the T-Dome, establish a rigorous air defence system in Taiwan with multi-layered defence, high-level detection, and effective interception, and weave a safety net for Taiwan to protect the lives and property of citizens," Mr Lai said.
In June of this year, China issued a similar bounty for the arrest of 20 people Beijing said were Taiwanese military hackers. Taiwan dismissed that threat, saying it would not be intimidated.
