A fight has broken out between Taiwan's China policy office and a major newspaper over how hard the island should hunt for Chinese spies — a sign of how tense Taiwan's politics have become.

• The United Daily News accused Mainland Affairs Council deputy head Liang Wen-chieh of turning "resist China, protect Taiwan" into a witch hunt where any critic of the ruling DPP becomes a spy suspect.
• Liang fired back that the paper ignores real spy arrests but gets very touchy about people reporting suspected spies, and told the writer to sign the piece with their real name.
• The row started when a DPP lawmaker flagged a man at Taipei Main Station whose laptop showed simplified Chinese text about a "war zone" system; police found he was logging into a stock trading course.
• Critics point to an earlier case where the council accused the Taitung county chief of breaking the law and came up with no proof.
• Opponents say ten years of DPP rule has pushed Taiwan back toward a martial-law mood, with online jokes about a lingering Cultural Revolution.

Outlook: Expect more spy accusations and more pushback as Taiwan heads deeper into a political fight over how to handle Chinese infiltration.