About a dozen Taiwanese media representatives attended a cross-strait media summit in Beijing on Tuesday organized by Beijing Daily Group, where China’s Taiwan Affairs Office Deputy Director Wu Xi (吳璽) talked about the agency’s expectations for Taiwanese and Chinese media, including being “cross-strait peacekeepers” by exposing “Taiwan independence separatist activities.”
“Taiwanese independence separatist forces” spread false information and malicious remarks to incite anti-China sentiment, creating cross-strait confrontation and seriously undermining peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait, she said, urging media on both sides to “expose the harmfulness and danger of Taiwanese independence activities and external interference.”
Wu’s expectations include pushing the idea of “Chinese culture” by sharing stories of the “shared bloodline” to inspire younger generations to be proud Chinese, promoting cross-strait integration and development, telling stories of cross-strait kinship and instances of integrated development and to push the curated narrative of China’s “unstoppable great national rejuvenation” by recording the “historical mission.”
The Mainland Affairs Council condemned Beijing for urging Taiwanese media to expose “separatist” activities and reminded Taiwanese media that assisting China to target Taiwanese or collaboration with the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) infiltration of Taiwan’s democracy would be prosecuted to the full extent of the law.
While the cross-strait media summit was ostensibly a platform for exchanges between media professionals in China and Taiwan, Chinese media are directly controlled by the state and do not have press freedom in the democratic sense, so the summit could only serve as a venue for Beijing to issue instructions and guidelines on how to support “united front” operations in the media.
In the Reporters Without Borders’ (RSF) annual World Press Freedom Index released last month, China’s press freedom ranked 178th out of 180 nations, while Hong Kong continued its decline down to 140th since Beijing imposed a national security law in 2020. It said that China believes “the media’s function is to be the party’s mouthpiece and to impart state propaganda.”
As Taiwanese become more wary and resistant to Chinese state propaganda about the “benefits” of unification with China, the “glory” of being Chinese and sharing the CCP’s ultimate goal of a “great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation” through its own media, China has pivoted to find proxies or local collaborators in Taiwan to help “rebrand” its narratives.
Beijing hopes to integrate Taiwanese media into its propaganda efforts, and last week’s summit is a clear display of its “training course.”
It asks Taiwanese media to “play their part” by describing those who reject China’s unification and want to protect Taiwan’s independence and peace as “provocateurs, peace saboteurs and warmongers.”
At the same time, they were asked to support a whimsical narrative of “kinship, peace and prosperity” through carefully selected soft news stories, cherry-picked to persuade Taiwanese that “accepting the CPP regime and Chinese identity” is the only option for a safe and better future.
Taipei First Girls’ High School teacher Alice Ou (區桂芝) sparked a backlash after saying she supports “zero arms procurement” and that “peace will come when Taiwanese acknowledge they are Chinese.” Ou defended her remarks as free speech and the interview was later broadcast by Chinese state media.
Her comments reflect what Beijing hopes to achieve — reshaping Taiwanese views on sovereignty, security, peace and war. “Peace” has become a central theme in China’s “united front” narrative toward Taiwan, while downplaying the cost: surrendering Taiwan’s democracy, sovereignty and freedoms.
The “peace” promised to Tibet was followed by repression, while Uyghurs in Xinjiang face systemic abuses. Hong Kong’s promised “one country, two systems” framework has also been eroded under Beijing’s tightening control.
“China’s preference is probably to have Taiwan willingly, voluntarily join them” US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in an interview, adding: “In a perfect world, what they would want is some vote or a referendum in Taiwan that agrees to fold in.”
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