China released high-resolution satellite footage of Taiwan on a sensitive wartime anniversary, and Taiwan's defense minister says it's a deliberate psychological pressure campaign, not just a tech flex.

• China's state broadcaster CCTV released satellite images clearly showing Taipei landmarks like the National Palace Museum and the Taipei Dome, timed to Taiwan's "Retrocession Day" holiday.
• Taiwan's Defense Minister Wellington Koo called it cognitive warfare, aimed at unsettling the public and military rather than a real operational threat.
• Koo pushed back on the symbolism, noting the People's Republic of China was founded in 1949, well after the war being commemorated, so Beijing has no real historical claim to the anniversary.
• Taiwan's military says it will step up early warning, concealment, and mobile dispersal of forces to protect against this kind of pressure.
• Separately, Koo addressed pay gaps among troops, saying most senior staff officers without combat pay still receive other service allowances, with only a small share getting none.

Outlook: Expect China to keep using symbolic shows of surveillance and timing around politically charged dates to pressure Taiwan psychologically, while Taiwan's military leans harder into dispersal and readiness measures.