Taiwan's prosecutors are warning local village and neighborhood chiefs about Chinese meddling ahead of elections — a move critics call intimidation, but one that reflects a real pressure campaign on the island's grassroots.

• Prosecutors across Taiwan mailed letters to village chiefs warning that accepting free or cheap China-funded trips in exchange for backing a party or candidate may break the anti-infiltration law.
• A cultural historian called the letters political intimidation that has scared local officials.
• Beijing is expected to work through organized crime plus village chiefs — using paid trips, favors, or blackmail to gain leverage, then muscle to enforce turnout, according to National Taiwan University's Ming Chu-cheng.
• Votes are secret, but results are published by neighborhood, so Beijing can check whether a compromised chief delivered — and punish them if not.
• A prior case ended in a four-year sentence after a woman organized China-funded trips for village chiefs and pushed them to support a specific candidate.

Outlook: Expect more prosecutions and sharper friction over where election-security enforcement ends and political pressure begins as the vote nears.