TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Decentralized international hacktivist group Anonymous has hacked into a UNESCO website and uploaded dozens of images in five waves including Taiwan symbols, attractions, political party logos, TV station logos, and a rap song.
An Anonymous representative who goes by the Reddit handle "HaileeSteinfeldFan" informed Taiwan News the collective had hacked into the website of UNESCO's Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission and uploaded five waves of defacements from Sept. 3-14. The representative said the collective had uploaded the images to protest an alleged Asian hate crime, propose a solution to the Fukushima wastewater releases, and criticize Google's inactivity policy.
The first wave of defacements was carried out on Sept. 3 and included a protest against the alleged assault by three teens on two Asian women on the New York City subway in August, the Taiwan flag, a meme showing one of the alleged assailants, a photo of police shooting victim Ta'Kiya Young, and a document protesting Google's decision to destroy inactive accounts. Also in this wave is a PDF giving the group's recommendations on handling the Fukushima wastewater releases, photos of three victims of the Jacksonville mass shooting in August, a paper titled "Wikpedia's Intentional Distortion of the History of the Holocaust," and a text file listing grievances against Google and Wikpedia.
Taiwan's official seal. (Anonymous image)
In its second wave sent on Sept. 11, Anonymous uploaded images of 17 Taiwan symbols, historic figures, and tourist attractions. Examples include the national seal of the Republic of China, Chiang Kai-shek's (蔣介石) successor Yen Chia-kan (嚴家淦), the Shilin Night Market, and a cup of bubble tea.
Yen Chia-kan. (Anoymous image)
In the third wave, uploaded on Thursday (Sept. 14), the hacktivists flooded UNESCO with 17 more images of popular tourist attractions in Taiwan. Among the destinations included were Taipei's Ximending, Taitung's Sanxiantai, Kaohsiung's Dragon and Tiger Pagodas, and Nantou's Yushan and Formosan Aboriginal Culture Village.
Culture village. (Anonymous image)
The fourth wave was also carried out on Thursday and comprised of the logos of 12 of Taiwan's political parties. Parties featured included the Democratic Progressive Party, New Power Party, Kuomingtang, and Taiwan People's Party.
TPP logo. (Anonymous image)
The fifth and final wave also launched on Thursday consisted of logos of five TV stations in Taiwan including China Television, PTS, Formosa TV. TTV, and CTS. This wave was capped off with a Mandarin rap song by Tuojiang Yegou (脫韁野狗, Runaway Wild Dog) titled "F*** CCP"
Formosa TV logo. (Anoymous image)
