Allegations in the Australian media that a Chinese spy was pressured to smear the Taiwanese ruling party with bribery charges has prompted accusations of meddling in the Taiwanese election.

The island of 23 million is already on high alert for any signs of Chinese interference in its presidential and legislative polls on Saturday, amid mounting fears of targeted disinformation campaigns to undermine Tsai Ing-wen, the incumbent president who Beijing deeply mistrusts. China denies trying to do so.

In the latest allegations of dirty tricks, reported in The Age, Wang Liqiang, a self-confessed Chinese intelligence operative seeking to defect to Australia, was warned in December that he could be sent back to China and killed if he did not publicly recant his story.

In November, Mr Wang sparked an international furore by claiming that he had worked for a Beijing-directed operation to target independence and democracy movements in Hong Kong and Taiwan, and to promote Communist Party influence.

Beijing immediately dismissed his story and said he was a convicted criminal, and Taiwan’s main opposition party, the Kuomintang (KMT), whom Wang said Beijing was supporting, has strongly denounced the claims, as has Han Kuo-yu, its presidential candidate.