Quoting a US radio host’s Twitter post, a former Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislator has been peddling the idea that the “US plans to destroy Taiwan.” While the tweet was a satirical post made up by the host, it is precisely this kind of misinterpretation and dissemination of disinformation that could lead to the “destruction” of Taiwan.
The “US plans to destroy Taiwan” tweet was posted on Feb. 16 by Garland Nixon, a radio talk show host based in Washington and identified to be a journalist working for Russian state-run media Radio Sputnik. The post says: “Breaking News: White House insiders leak that, when asked if there could be any greater disaster than the neocon Ukraine project, President Biden responded, ‘wait until you see our plan for the destruction of Taiwan.’”
Former KMT legislator Alex Tsai (蔡正元) translated Nixon’s satirical tweet into Chinese and posted it on Facebook. Tsai also appeared on pro-China TV shows saying he thinks Biden let slip the plan during a White House meeting.
Sensing an opportunity, Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Wang Wenbin (汪文斌) said: “I also want to know what ‘the destruction of Taiwan’ plan is. The US should give a definitive explanation.” Meanwhile, Chinese state tabloid the Global Times wrote: “The US was reported to have been considering plans to destroy the island in the event of a military conflict between the island and the Chinese mainland.”
Nixon has been interviewed by an online influencer and confirmed that the Twitter post was meant to be satirical. The influencer said it was likely an example of something “lost in translation” and wondered why some Taiwanese did not check the accuracy of Twitter posts.
This case is a classic example of “cognitive warfare” aimed at intimidating Taiwan.
Nixon’s past tweets include one that says: “Breaking News: Taiwan government insider leaks that they have betrayed their citizens so dramatically that they may have to pay royalty right to the government of Norway for the use of the term ‘quisling.’” Tweets such as this are clearly jokes. However, for people who want to believe in disinformation, the truth is the last thing they would seek. In this case, individuals spreading and embellishing the quotes aim to promote “skepticism about the US” or propagate the conspiracy theory that the “US wants to destroy Taiwan.”
Disinformation has long been used as a tool by China, pro-China politicians and media to undermine Taiwan’s democracy and international relations. As US Representative Mike Gallagher, chair of the House of Representatives Select Committee on the Strategic Competition Between the US and the Chinese Communist Party, said: “The invasion has already begun in the cognitive space.”
A maxim often quoted in reference to Nazi propaganda states that: “If you tell a lie big enough and keep repeating it, people will eventually come to believe it.” Today, China deploys the same tactic, with its repeated propaganda that Taiwan — which the People’s Republic of China has never governed — is “part of China.”
A more recent example is China’s 12-point peace plan for Ukraine. It lists respect for the sovereignty of all countries as the first priority, but Beijing also trumpets its “rock solid” relations with Russia, Ukraine’s invader. China itself has long been the major saboteur and intimidator of Taiwanese sovereignty.
Unlike Nixon’s tweet, the cognitive warfare against Taiwan and the international community is no joke.
In their recent op-ed “Trump Should Rein In Taiwan” in Foreign Policy magazine, Christopher Chivvis and Stephen Wertheim argued that the US should pressure President William Lai (賴清德) to “tone it down” to de-escalate tensions in the Taiwan Strait — as if Taiwan’s words are more of a threat to peace than Beijing’s actions. It is an old argument dressed up in new concern: that Washington must rein in Taipei to avoid war. However, this narrative gets it backward. Taiwan is not the problem; China is. Calls for a so-called “grand bargain” with Beijing — where the US pressures Taiwan into concessions
The term “assassin’s mace” originates from Chinese folklore, describing a concealed weapon used by a weaker hero to defeat a stronger adversary with an unexpected strike. In more general military parlance, the concept refers to an asymmetric capability that targets a critical vulnerability of an adversary. China has found its modern equivalent of the assassin’s mace with its high-altitude electromagnetic pulse (HEMP) weapons, which are nuclear warheads detonated at a high altitude, emitting intense electromagnetic radiation capable of disabling and destroying electronics. An assassin’s mace weapon possesses two essential characteristics: strategic surprise and the ability to neutralize a core dependency.
Chinese President and Chinese Communist Party (CCP) Chairman Xi Jinping (習近平) said in a politburo speech late last month that his party must protect the “bottom line” to prevent systemic threats. The tone of his address was grave, revealing deep anxieties about China’s current state of affairs. Essentially, what he worries most about is systemic threats to China’s normal development as a country. The US-China trade war has turned white hot: China’s export orders have plummeted, Chinese firms and enterprises are shutting up shop, and local debt risks are mounting daily, causing China’s economy to flag externally and hemorrhage internally. China’s
During the “426 rally” organized by the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and the Taiwan People’s Party under the slogan “fight green communism, resist dictatorship,” leaders from the two opposition parties framed it as a battle against an allegedly authoritarian administration led by President William Lai (賴清德). While criticism of the government can be a healthy expression of a vibrant, pluralistic society, and protests are quite common in Taiwan, the discourse of the 426 rally nonetheless betrayed troubling signs of collective amnesia. Specifically, the KMT, which imposed 38 years of martial law in Taiwan from 1949 to 1987, has never fully faced its
RSS