Taiwan's ruling party is warning voters that helping China meddle in the year-end local elections can bring up to 15 years in prison, and it is offering big cash rewards for tips.

• The DPP's China affairs office listed seven illegal acts, including recruiting people for China-funded campaign junkets, taking free or cut-price trips, faking opinion polls on Chinese orders, and passing along instructions or gathering intelligence.
• The warning comes as Beijing's interference is expected to peak before the year-end local elections; charges could fall under the anti-infiltration law, national security law, and election laws.
• The justice ministry now counts foreign interference in elections as reward-eligible, with payouts of up to NT$20 million for tips that lead to a case.
• The same day, the 68th anniversary of the 1958 Kinmen artillery battle split the two camps: President Lai Ching-te pledged record defense spending, breaking 3% of GDP for the first time, while KMT chair Cheng Li-wun called for peace talks and a return to the 1992 consensus.
• Local races are heating up, with the KMT rallying behind candidates in Kinmen, Taichung, and beyond as Lai faces his first big electoral test.

Outlook: Expect more interference cases and sharper cross-strait rhetoric as the November elections approach.