At the start of last year, the legislature passed an amendment to the Budget Act (預算法) that prohibits the government from carrying out embedded marketing. The administration of President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) solemnly swore that it would fully abide by the amendment.
However, an auditing report released by the National Audit Office a few days ago showed that not only has the government continued to practice embedded marketing, but that last year, more than 80 percent of the government bodies responsible for carrying out public policy broke the law. All the administration’s talk about “governance according to law” was shown to be just that, mere talk, and it has clearly shown its hypocritical and deceitful nature by constantly saying one thing and doing another.
Embedded marketing by the government has stirred up a lot of public indignation and civic groups have even formed an alliance against it. The main reason for this dissatisfaction is that government propaganda has been disguised as news, interviews, special installments of programs and symposiums. Repackaging information this way misleads anyone who receives it and this has harmed media professionalism and credibility. This has been done using public funds, which means that taxpayers’ money is being used to brainwash taxpayers.
Not only is the Ma administration openly breaking the law, the Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS) has set up an exemption clause to give those agencies that are breaking the law a way to continue the practice. That is why there have been strong calls in the legislature to impeach the head of the DGBAS.
According to observations made by the Foundation for Prevention of Public Damage by the Media, even after the amendment was passed, propaganda issued by the central and local governments that is labeled as “advertisements” have become tools for government officials to show off and brag about their so-called “political achievements.” Advertisements that openly break the law are also rampant, while many other bodies — including state-owned enterprises like banks — continue to carry out a disguised form of government placement marketing.
Even worse, seeing the way the Ma administration has carried out embedded marketing, the Chinese government has copied the practice and started spending money in Taiwan to use the local media to brainwash the public. In recent years, when certain Chinese provincial leaders have made high-profile visits to Taiwan, certain Taiwanese media outlets have featured spectacular reports welcoming them. These actions clearly show how the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) are exactly the same in essence and that they have the same goal — which is using brainwashing to promote the unification of Taiwan with China.
Taiwanese laws are supposed to hinder embedded marketing, but China has circumvented these laws by getting certain people in Taiwan to set up “brainwashing centers.” Taiwanese should unite and stand up against this brainwashing that the KMT and the CCP are trying to impose on the public.
Lu Shih-hsiang is an adviser to the Taipei Times.
Translated by Drew Cameron
Recently, China launched another diplomatic offensive against Taiwan, improperly linking its “one China principle” with UN General Assembly Resolution 2758 to constrain Taiwan’s diplomatic space. After Taiwan’s presidential election on Jan. 13, China persuaded Nauru to sever diplomatic ties with Taiwan. Nauru cited Resolution 2758 in its declaration of the diplomatic break. Subsequently, during the WHO Executive Board meeting that month, Beijing rallied countries including Venezuela, Zimbabwe, Belarus, Egypt, Nicaragua, Sri Lanka, Laos, Russia, Syria and Pakistan to reiterate the “one China principle” in their statements, and assert that “Resolution 2758 has settled the status of Taiwan” to hinder Taiwan’s
Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong’s (李顯龍) decision to step down after 19 years and hand power to his deputy, Lawrence Wong (黃循財), on May 15 was expected — though, perhaps, not so soon. Most political analysts had been eyeing an end-of-year handover, to ensure more time for Wong to study and shadow the role, ahead of general elections that must be called by November next year. Wong — who is currently both deputy prime minister and minister of finance — would need a combination of fresh ideas, wisdom and experience as he writes the nation’s next chapter. The world that
Can US dialogue and cooperation with the communist dictatorship in Beijing help avert a Taiwan Strait crisis? Or is US President Joe Biden playing into Chinese President Xi Jinping’s (習近平) hands? With America preoccupied with the wars in Europe and the Middle East, Biden is seeking better relations with Xi’s regime. The goal is to responsibly manage US-China competition and prevent unintended conflict, thereby hoping to create greater space for the two countries to work together in areas where their interests align. The existing wars have already stretched US military resources thin, and the last thing Biden wants is yet another war.
Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, people have been asking if Taiwan is the next Ukraine. At a G7 meeting of national leaders in January, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida warned that Taiwan “could be the next Ukraine” if Chinese aggression is not checked. NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg has said that if Russia is not defeated, then “today, it’s Ukraine, tomorrow it can be Taiwan.” China does not like this rhetoric. Its diplomats ask people to stop saying “Ukraine today, Taiwan tomorrow.” However, the rhetoric and stated ambition of Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) on Taiwan shows strong parallels with