A national security official on Saturday said there were growing concerns over Beijing’s training of young Taiwanese as Internet celebrities to help China spread propaganda.
The fear is that these tactics would cause Taiwanese to lower their guard on China, allowing it to wield greater influence here. Inevitably, this would help Beijing erode Taiwan’s democracy, by swaying people’s political positions and encouraging them to vote for China-friendly politicians, who could eventually sign agreements with Beijing that would see Taiwan lose its sovereignty, freedoms and way of life.
This raises a few important questions: To what extent are people living in a democracy with free access to information susceptible to outside propaganda? How likely is it that Beijing’s propaganda could cause a majority of Taiwanese to abandon their democracy? To what extent can — and should — the government combat foreign propaganda?
An op-ed published in the Guardian on Jan. 31, 2018, cited a seminar at the University of Oxford, where attending Russian journalists and activists “were much more resilient to propaganda” than expected. The writer attributed this to the group having “developed a capacity to detect” disinformation. In democracies, people could be as effective in resisting propaganda if they learned how it is devised and how it works — for example, by playing on emotions — the article said.
A New York Times article from Sept. 11 last year said that the vast majority of misinformation online is actually shared by older users, who tend to be less discerning about the information they encounter on social media. This is particularly worrisome, as in most democracies the older generation is more likely to vote. That means that while Beijing’s propaganda campaign might not work on its intended target — young Taiwanese — it could still affect the voting habits of older Taiwanese.
However, this does not mean that younger people would not be interested in working in China. Beijing’s 31 “incentives” for young Taiwanese, which it introduced in February 2018, have had limited success, but there is a risk of a brain drain if Taiwan cannot bring up its stagnant wages. This is something Beijing is aware of, and it will continue to revise its incentives as long as it feels it can draw in Taiwanese with promises of better wages and benefits. Some younger Taiwanese might feel they can mitigate any risks associated with working in China by toeing the Chinese Communist Party line, even if they do not believe the propaganda.
Experts agree that the problem of online misinformation cannot be tackled by targeting individuals alone — it can only be resolved by teaching the public how to recognize it. This involves a multitiered approach: courses at grade-school level; mandatory public-service messages on broadcast channels and online platforms; legislation that penalizes major offenders; and cooperation with social media platforms.
At the same time, the government must counter Beijing’s incentives for young Taiwanese seeking work and education in China, by offering attractive options at home. The government could also work with the governments of like-minded countries like Australia, Canada, EU nations, Singapore and the US to develop exchange programs for Taiwanese who want experience working abroad.
Propaganda will always exist, and the only way the government has any chance of tackling it is by better educating people, while allowing them to make their own informed decisions about the information they encounter. If the government finds that Taiwanese Internet celebrities trained in China are growing in popularity, it could seek to inform viewers about the validity of the content, and could explore the possibility of working with the Internet celebrities to see if there are work options for them in Taiwan.
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