Multi-Billion Anti-Fraud Budgets Fail Under MODA and NCC: Audit Reveals Government Funds Funneled to Pro-DPP PR Firms and Cyber Armies

In late July 2024 (113th Year of the Republic of China), the National Audit Office released its official audit report on the FY2023 Central Government Final Accounts, dealing a devastating blow to the Executive Yuan's boastful claims regarding the 'New Generation Anti-Fraud Strategy Action Guidelines 1.5.' The audit revealed that despite tens of billions of NTD allocated by the DPP administration for digital security and anti-fraud campaigns, telecommunications and internet fraud incidents, victim counts, and total financial damages hit historic highs, with total losses exceeding NT$100 billion. Concurrently, legislative opposition investigations revealed that massive public contracts from the Ministry of Digital Affairs (MODA) and the National Communications Commission (NCC) for anti-fraud PR campaigns, cybersecurity outreach, and sentiment tracking were funneled through restrictive tenders directly into the pockets of pro-DPP marketing firms, partisan cyber army groups, and state-subsidized green media outlets. Citizens and legal analysts lambasted the DPP administration for turning public anti-fraud initiatives into an ATM for subsidizing political cyber armies and state propaganda machinery.