Six US senators have asked US government agencies to help Taiwan investigate China’s alleged meddling in its elections and take action to prevent Beijing from interfering in elections in democracies worldwide.
“We appreciate your actions your departments are already taking to address CCP [Chinese Communist Party] foreign interference,” the senators said in a letter addressed to US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, US Secretary of the Treasury Steven Mnuchin, US Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats and FBI Director Christopher Wray.
“We encourage you to work closely with Taiwan authorities to thoroughly investigate these allegations and, if necessary, take swift action to deter future CCP interference in elections in Taiwan or elsewhere across the globe,” senators Catherine Cortez Masto, Marco Rubio, Christopher Coons, Cory Gardner, Michael Bennet and Ted Cruz said in the letter dated on Thursday last week.
Photo: CNA
Taipei has suggested that illegal campaign contributions to pro-Beijing political candidates were one of the primary tools of alleged CCP interference in the Nov. 24 nine-in-one elections, the letter said.
The Taiwanese government has also accused the CCP of “using disinformation to shape public opinion of political candidates deemed unsympathetic to Beijing’s interests” and has said that “the CCP spread false information through social media and messaging platforms,” it added.
The CCP’s attempts to erode democratic processes and norms around the world threaten US partnerships and prosperity, and if Taipei’s allegations are proved true, it “would be deeply concerning not only for Taiwan’s future, but also for fellow democracies ... where the CCP choose to interfere,” the senators said.
“We believe such allegations must be taken seriously if free societies are to continue to thrive,” they added.
Citing comments by US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Scott Busby that praised Taiwan as “an invaluable model to others,” the senators said that democracies such as the US and Taiwan need to stand together.
It was especially important at a time of democratic backsliding and human rights abuses elsewhere in the Indo-Pacific region that the two sides join hands to promote “a brighter future, free of repression, censorship and exploitation,” they said.
WELCOME SUPPORT
“We write to express our support for efforts to counter interference of this nature and to state unequivocally that we stand shoulder to shoulder with democracies fighting attempts to undermine their sovereignty and freedom,” the senators added.
On the sidelines of a meeting of the Legislative Yuan’s Foreign and National Defense Committee yesterday, Minister of Foreign Affairs Joseph Wu (吳釗燮) thanked the US Congress for its support and said that Taiwan has had many discussions with US authorities on the matter.
Taiwan hopes to join in discussions with other nations to help prevent similar interference in democratic practices in other free nations, he said.
A magnitude 7.0 earthquake struck off Yilan at 11:05pm yesterday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The epicenter was located at sea, about 32.3km east of Yilan County Hall, at a depth of 72.8km, CWA data showed There were no immediate reports of damage. The intensity of the quake, which gauges the actual effect of a seismic event, measured 4 in Yilan County area on Taiwan’s seven-tier intensity scale, the data showed. It measured 4 in other parts of eastern, northern and central Taiwan as well as Tainan, and 3 in Kaohsiung and Pingtung County, and 2 in Lienchiang and Penghu counties and 1
FOREIGN INTERFERENCE: Beijing would likely intensify public opinion warfare in next year’s local elections to prevent Lai from getting re-elected, the ‘Yomiuri Shimbun’ said Internal documents from a Chinese artificial intelligence (AI) company indicated that China has been using the technology to intervene in foreign elections, including propaganda targeting Taiwan’s local elections next year and presidential elections in 2028, a Japanese newspaper reported yesterday. The Institute of National Security of Vanderbilt University obtained nearly 400 pages of documents from GoLaxy, a company with ties to the Chinese government, and found evidence that it had apparently deployed sophisticated, AI-driven propaganda campaigns in Hong Kong and Taiwan to shape public opinion, the Yomiuri Shimbun reported. GoLaxy provides insights, situation analysis and public opinion-shaping technology by conducting network surveillance
‘POLITICAL GAME’: DPP lawmakers said the motion would not meet the legislative threshold needed, and accused the KMT and the TPP of trivializing the Constitution The Legislative Yuan yesterday approved a motion to initiate impeachment proceedings against President William Lai (賴清德), saying he had undermined Taiwan’s constitutional order and democracy. The motion was approved 61-50 by lawmakers from the main opposition Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and the smaller Taiwan People’s Party (TPP), who together hold a legislative majority. Under the motion, a roll call vote for impeachment would be held on May 19 next year, after various hearings are held and Lai is given the chance to defend himself. The move came after Lai on Monday last week did not promulgate an amendment passed by the legislature that
AFTERMATH: The Taipei City Government said it received 39 minor incident reports including gas leaks, water leaks and outages, and a damaged traffic signal A magnitude 7.0 earthquake struck off Taiwan’s northeastern coast late on Saturday, producing only two major aftershocks as of yesterday noon, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The limited aftershocks contrast with last year’s major earthquake in Hualien County, as Saturday’s earthquake occurred at a greater depth in a subduction zone. Saturday’s earthquake struck at 11:05pm, with its hypocenter about 32.3km east of Yilan County Hall, at a depth of 72.8km. Shaking was felt in 17 administrative regions north of Tainan and in eastern Taiwan, reaching intensity level 4 on Taiwan’s seven-tier seismic scale, the CWA said. In Hualien, the
RSS