Beijing has been manipulating public opinion to advance its expansionist ambitions in Taiwan, Premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) said yesterday, calling on the public not to become unwitting tools of Chinese propaganda as an apparent Beijing-directed social media influence campaign causes concern.
The Mainland Affairs Council in a statement on Friday said it had asked the government to investigate whether China’s reported effort to recruit pro-China content creators in Taiwan contravenes Taiwanese laws.
The council’s statement was perceived to be a response to reports that job advertisements have appeared on Facebook that seek Taiwanese applicants willing to promote a Taiwanese detente or unification with China.
Photo: CNA
“The Internet is as much a weapon of the Chinese government as the Chinese warships and fighter jets circling the nation,” Su said yesterday.
“China is paying people from all classes of Taiwanese society and utilizing the Internet to manufacture disinformation and fake news, which create divisions and demoralization that aid Beijing’s ambitions of annexing Taiwan,” he said.
While government agencies have been ordered to take precautions against China’s influence operations, members of the public are called upon to exercise their best judgement when consuming information, he said.
The Legislative Yuan’s Organic Laws and Statutes Bureau has raised concerns that a bill being drafted by the Executive Yuan to regulate false reporting could infringe on freedom of the press, he said.
“We hope the media can regulate itself, but we have witnessed disconcerting developments, which the public has also condemned,” he said. “Both self-regulation and laws are needed for effective regulation.”
The Executive Yuan is mulling another amendment to the Criminal Code that would punish people who help spread false information, Cabinet spokeswoman Kolas Yotaka said yesterday.
“We cannot let outside forces take advantage of Taiwan’s freedom while harming our democracy,” Kolas said, adding that the government would continue to combat false reporting aimed at causing social unrest.
Separately yesterday, Taoyuan City Councilor Wang Hao-yu (王浩宇) of the Green Party said that a business entity had offered him a seven-digit sum to sell a Facebook community page for Jhongli District (中壢) that he administers.
The entity is apparently based in China and its offer is probably connected to the general elections next year, he said, adding that the business seemed to have calculated the asking price based on the number of posts and comments generated.
“I am not a sellout and I will not allow our priceless freedom of speech to fall into the hands of the information warfare operatives across the [Taiwan] Strait,” he said.
The National Security Bureau has been asked to launch an investigation into the identity of the would be buyer, he said.
Additional reporting by CNA
PRAISE: Japanese visitor Takashi Kubota said the Taiwanese temple architecture images showcased in the AI Art Gallery were the most impressive displays he saw Taiwan does not have an official pavilion at the World Expo in Osaka, Japan, because of its diplomatic predicament, but the government-backed Tech World pavilion is drawing interest with its unique recreations of works by Taiwanese artists. The pavilion features an artificial intelligence (AI)-based art gallery showcasing works of famous Taiwanese artists from the Japanese colonial period using innovative technologies. Among its main simulated displays are Eastern gouache paintings by Chen Chin (陳進), Lin Yu-shan (林玉山) and Kuo Hsueh-hu (郭雪湖), who were the three young Taiwanese painters selected for the East Asian Painting exhibition in 1927. Gouache is a water-based
Taiwan would welcome the return of Honduras as a diplomatic ally if its next president decides to make such a move, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said yesterday. “Of course, we would welcome Honduras if they want to restore diplomatic ties with Taiwan after their elections,” Lin said at a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee, when asked to comment on statements made by two of the three Honduran presidential candidates during the presidential campaign in the Central American country. Taiwan is paying close attention to the region as a whole in the wake of a
A magnitude 4.1 earthquake struck eastern Taiwan's Hualien County at 2:23pm today, according to the Central Weather Administration (CWA). The epicenter of the temblor was 5.4 kilometers northeast of Hualien County Hall, at a depth of 34.9 km, according to the CWA. The earthquake's intensity, which gauges the actual effect of a temblor, was the highest in Hualien County, where it measured 2 on Taiwan's 7-tier intensity scale. The quake also measured an intensity of 1 in Yilan county, Taichung, Nantou County, Changhua County and Yunlin County, the CWA said. There were no immediate reports of damage or injuries.
OFF-TARGET: More than 30,000 participants were expected to take part in the Games next month, but only 6,550 foreign and 19,400 Taiwanese athletes have registered Taipei city councilors yesterday blasted the organizers of next month’s World Masters Games over sudden timetable and venue changes, which they said have caused thousands of participants to back out of the international sporting event, among other organizational issues. They also cited visa delays and political interference by China as reasons many foreign athletes are requesting refunds for the event, to be held from May 17 to 30. Jointly organized by the Taipei and New Taipei City governments, the games have been rocked by numerous controversies since preparations began in 2020. Taipei City Councilor Lin Yen-feng (林延鳳) said yesterday that new measures by
RSS