Taipei, April 20 -- Taiwan's Ministry of National Defence (MND) in its report on Saturday has stated that China is using local criminal organisations, illegal lenders, religious institutions, and civil groups to penetrate the Taiwanese military, Taipei Times reported.

The report, prepared for lawmakers ahead of a scheduled hearing on Chinese espionage, said that retired military personnel who had aligned with China often relied on these channels to access active members of the armed forces.

According to the ministry, Chinese intelligence operations commonly use measures such as blackmail, online communications, bribery, and pressure from loan sharks to manipulate serving military personnel into cooperating.

Beijing's primary objectives...