International media have been paying substantial attention to not only the war between Russia and Ukraine, but also the situation in the Taiwan Strait. This shows that Taiwan is in a position unlike before, as the relationship between Taipei and Beijing is now the focus of the world.
Meanwhile, the international community usually draws parallels between the Russia-Ukraine war and Taiwan-China tensions.
As Taiwan has been warned of the threat, what role should it play and what attitude should Taiwanese have to deal with the situation?
When it comes to war, most people understand it as a conflict between two sides. Many might think that the key to winning would be to hold control over the opposing forces.
However, nowadays the importance of information warfare, which should be understood as a virtual outpost, is paramount.
On the day that then-US House of Representatives speaker Nancy Pelosi arrived in Taiwan, the digital display networks of several 7-Eleven outlets and a Taiwan Railways Administration station were hacked.
Taipei should have learned from Chinese military drills near Taiwan, but talk about national defense has remained focused on potential kinetic conflict rather than information warfare. Military force is no longer the key to winning a war.
Judging from Taiwanese society, information infiltration must be confronted and addressed, especially when it happens on social media.
Some Chinese use the technique of mixing graphics and text, as well as taking advantage of the gap between disseminating and receiving information to create misleading content and confuse the public.
Agencies in Taiwan try to dispel rumors as soon as they emerge, but false information has been disseminated in a guerrilla manner, testing the public’s ability to distinguish truth from falsehood.
After the outbreak of the war between Russia and Ukraine, the Internet was damaged, blocked and disrupted, along with which a fake screenshot of Ukranian President Vlodomyr Zelenskiy was disseminated widely. These incidents demonstrate how important it is for a person to distinguish between false information and the truth. It is especially important for Taiwanese, as many key opinion leaders and legislators have become collaborators with China.
They have been spreading doubt about the US’ support, advocating reducing Taiwan’s self-defense capability, and belittling its performance in foreign affairs.
Moreover, they have shamelessly downplayed the notion of Taiwan’s national sovereignty while justifying the activities of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). They are similar to Ming Dynasty militant Wu Sangui (吳三桂), who opened the gates of the Great Wall to let Manchu soldiers into China.
Today, information from China’s “united front” efforts has been planted in Taiwan’s soil on a regular basis. If a war were to start, who would be more likely to defeat Taiwan, the Chinese military or those who share the traits of Wu in Taiwan?
When confronted with the CCP’s “united front” tactics, Taiwanese need to be prepared and demonstrate an all-out effort, rather than leaving everything to the armed forces. Taiwan must come up with tactics to deal with fake information and consolidate our virtual front line. All of us hope that Taiwan can be better, but we need to ask ourselves first what we should do to make it happen.
Lin Chih-hung was a photographer for the Reserve Officers’ Training Corps’ Education Center in Hualien and is now a military product trader.
Translated by Emma Liu
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