Countering Cognitive Warfare: Taiwan’s Defense Against Party Influence in Kinmen

Pictured: The completed construction of a trestle for the Kinmen-Xiamen Bridge, located on Xiamen island on the PRC side. The goal of the bridge is to connect Kinmen to the future Xiang’an Airport, and to thereby integrate Kinmen into the greater Xiamen area via direct transportation links. Unilateral construction is meant to put pressure on the Taiwan side to reciprocate. 

Understanding the PRC’s Cognitive Warfare Against Taiwan – A Focus on Kinmen

In an article featured in the Global Taiwan Brief, Mr. Ian Murphy and Mr. Eric Chan explain the strategic significance of Kinmen and it’s unique vulnerability to the People’s Republic of China’s (PRC) cognitive warfare tactics.

In recent years, tensions between Taiwan and the People’s Republic of China (PRC) have reached new heights. General Secretary Xi Jinping (習近平) has intensified all-domain coercion, targeting Taiwan’s sovereignty through military, economic, and cognitive warfare. While Taiwan has demonstrated resilience, one exception stands out: Kinmen (金門).

Kinmen’s proximity to the PRC and its economic dependencies make it uniquely vulnerable to Beijing’s tactics. The Chinese Communist Party (CCP, 中國共產黨) has weaponized infrastructure projects, like the Kinmen-Xiamen Bridge (金廈大橋), and resources, including freshwater pipelines, as tools to exert influence. These initiatives are not merely economic—they are propaganda efforts and test cases for unification strategies.

What Is Cognitive Warfare?

Cognitive warfare aims to shape the thoughts, decisions, and behaviors of targeted populations. The PRC employs disinformation, military intimidation, and influence operations to erode Taiwanese identity, weaken public confidence in governance, and promote unification as inevitable.

On Kinmen, cognitive warfare takes a distinct form, leveraging unilateral infrastructure projects like the Four New Links (新四通) program. These projects promise economic growth but create dependency on the PRC, further integrating Kinmen into mainland China’s orbit.

Kinmen’s Strategic Vulnerability

Kinmen’s reliance on PRC tourism and trade, alongside its geographic proximity, has led to initiatives like the Kinmen-Xiamen Bridge and the Xiamen Xiang’an Airport (廈門翔安國際機場). While these projects outwardly promise economic benefits, they serve broader strategic goals: to reshape Kinmen’s identity and align it closer to the PRC.

What Can Taiwan Do?

To counter these threats, Taiwan must:

• Strengthen Civil Society: Invest in community engagement and build stronger connections between Kinmen and Taiwan proper.
• Diversify Kinmen’s Economy: Reduce reliance on PRC-driven tourism and trade by opening pathways to global markets.
• Counter Propaganda: Promote narratives of resilience and independence to empower Kinmen’s population.

This is not just about defending territory—it’s about ensuring that the people of Kinmen see their future as part of Taiwan, not as an extension of Fujian province.

For a deeper dive into how cognitive warfare tactics are being deployed and how Taiwan can respond, read the full analysis here.

Photo credits: Xiamen News