The Ministry of National Defense’s Bureau of Political Warfare has established a team to counter Chinese propaganda aimed at weakening morale in the nation’s armed forces.
The team is to work with media post-production staff to improve the quality of the military’s videos and other content, the bureau said on Saturday.
China has ramped up its propaganda aimed at disrupting social stability in Taiwan over the past year, most recently with a video titled My Fighting Eagle Flies Around Taiwan (我的戰鷹繞著寶島飛) released on Feb. 3, which contained a threatening message for Taiwanese.
The military responded with a video of its own.
The first video by the new team, released on Saturday, said that the military put the safety and welfare of Taiwanese above all else, and that because its motivation was rooted in “love, its resolve would have no limits.”
Its message was different from what has been done in the past, as the military wants to project an image that is rooted in “love” for the nation’s values, rather than one that is irrationally aggressive, the bureau said.
When coming from this perspective, the military’s resolve to protect the nation knows no limits, it said.
In the past, videos published by the military were handled by the Military News Agency and the Youth Daily News, which also handled interviews and provided source material to the Presidential Office and the National Security Council, the bureau said.
However, with the establishment of the new team, those responsibilities will all be amalgamated under one group, which would fall under the administration of the bureau’s psychological warfare division, it said.
The new team will have access to many more resources, which would help it improve the quality of the military’s videos, it said.
Although China has employed numerous direct and indirect methods to increase pressure on the nation, the military is always vigilant and would not be shaken in its resolve to protect the nation, the bureau said.
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