Mon, Oct 28, 2024 page8

• The right not to be brain-washed

  • By Susie Su 蘇拾瑩
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  Taiwanese men doing their alternative military service within Taipei’s and Taichung’s Department of Compulsory Military Service independently reported outlandish incidents of brainwashing. Below is a story related to propagandizing as it manifests overseas.

  One of my Chinese friends and a group of Taiwanese friends set off together from Sydney, Australia, in a tour group to northern Europe.

  The travel agency arranged for a Chinese tour guide to lead the group. The guide would start off on a propaganda blitz every afternoon at a set time, singing the praises of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).

  The Taiwanese members of the tour seemed completely unaware, but my Chinese friend commented that this was essentially the same thing as a CCP political course aimed at Chinese domestic audiences and Chinese-heavy tour groups such as theirs.

  As soon as my friend looked up the guide’s identity, they were quick to see through the veil — the guide was basically a CCP member tasked with disseminating propaganda for the party.

  My Chinese friend and one of the Taiwanese group members started to speak up, but the guide did not seem to understand what the issue was, adding that they would not stop with the propaganda.

  Over several days, the undercurrent of discontent in the group kept simmering to the point things eventually exploded.

  The tour group erupted in a shouting match and several of the Taiwanese group members just wanted to put out the flames, ultimately trying to persuade their protesting group members to “just let the guide speak,” adding that “the guide also has the right to freedom of speech.”

  This attempt at placation was risible. What exactly was the level of twisted logic here?

  To what extent should Taiwanese tolerate CCP political propaganda without alarm bells going off in their mind?

  Is it any wonder that the CCP’s unchecked infiltration is paying massive dividends when people would rather try to smooth over any spats than turn off the torrent of misinformation?

  Not long after, my friend could not stand the deluge of nonsense anymore and called the travel agency’s head office in Sydney to lodge a complaint.

  The agency then called up the branch travel agency and told them that the guide’s actions were illegal, and that if they were reported to and investigated by local authorities, the travel agency would have its license suspended. After the phone call, the guide finally stopped spouting the propaganda.

  In the past few years, China’s propaganda campaigns have been spreading wider and with more zeal. There is essentially no place left untouched by them.

  This incident happened in free and open democracies such as Australia and those in northern Europe, but they far more frequently occur in places lacking a democratic mindset.

  Taiwanese need to increase their awareness.

  Whenever they encounter CCP propaganda overseas, they need to be aware of it and be willing to fight back against the messaging.

  Tour guides outside China do have freedom of speech, but tourists also have the right not to be captive audiences to indoctrination attempts. Moreover, the other party is essentially spouting off a spate of lies.

  Travelers from democratic societies absolutely have the freedom to refuse to be brainwashed.

  Susie Su is a Taiwanese living in Australia.

  Translated by Tim Smith
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