TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – The National Security Bureau (NSB) said China was inviting local politicians with the intention of influencing elections, while the Ministry of Culture (MOC) said it would present a report about alleged attempts by Chinese reporters to interfere with Taiwan’s media, reports said Wednesday (July 3).

The issues were mentioned in a report to be presented at the Legislative Yuan Thursday (July 4) by officials from the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC), the NSB, the MOC, and the Ministry of Justice Investigation Bureau (MJIB). Prosecutors had filed 39 indictments in 84 cases over the past year, the NSB said, indicating an increase in the number of challenges to national security, CNA reported.

Methods used by China included underground financial institutions demanding confidential military data as a form of debt repayment by military officers. At election time, Beijing funded trips by local politicians to China in an attempt to influence voting behavior, while also spreading reports about measures supposedly favoring Taiwan businesses.

The alleged interference by Chinese journalists posted in Taiwan in TV talk shows was the subject of an investigation by the MOC, the report said. Seven Chinese media companies had stationed a total of 10 correspondents in Taiwan, per CNA.

The probe focused on a former reporter for China’s state-run Xinhua News Agency who was accused of involvement in the production of a TV show. He had already left Taiwan, as Chinese correspondents were issued a press pass for three months, with one extension possible.

The MOC said it would publish the results of its probe into the former Chinese journalist within a week, Radio Taiwan International (RTI) reported. The investigation focused both on UDN, the Taiwan media outlet that had invited the correspondent, and his employer, Xinhua News. The Chinese news agency’s two current reporters in Taiwan have also been invited to discuss the issue, according to the MOC.