Taiwan is being told to brace for a smarter wave of foreign influence operations before its year-end local elections — a warning aimed at voters, banks, and infrastructure operators alike.

• Taiwan faces constant propaganda attacks meant to split the public and weaken trust in democracy and the US-Taiwan partnership.
• The new worry is AI-powered manipulation, which is harder to spot than the tactics Taiwan has beaten before.
• AI-boosted hacking is also flagged as a threat to banks and critical infrastructure, needing action now.
• Washington praised President Lai Ching-te's pledge to lift defense spending to 5% of GDP by 2030, in line with moves by Europe, Japan, Australia, and Israel.
• On energy, Taiwan is called far better prepared than a few years ago, with power rationing plans, a more spread-out grid, and small nuclear reactors and geothermal now on the table.

Outlook: Expect tighter scrutiny of AI-made fake content and cyber defenses as the local election campaign heats up.