China is using economic incentives to target 10 types of groups in Taiwan as part of its “united front” tactics, an unnamed government official said, citing national security intelligence.
The official said the groups targeted for engagement are local townships, young people and students, Chinese spouses of Taiwanese, Aborigines, pro-China political parties and groups, temples, descendants of Chinese who retain roots in China, labor groups, farmers’ and fishermens’ associations, and military veterans.
The government had previously estimated that China spends at least NT$10 billion (US$337.8 million) per year enticing Taiwanese to join united front efforts, but they believe that there might be more “invisible funding.”
Photo: CNA
China uses economic incentives when cultivating Chinese spouses, Aboriginal leaders, and local township and religious organizations, the official said, adding that Beijing might provide free visits to China or direct benefits to improve China’s approval rating.
China is also attempting to establish internal aid in Taiwan to direct public affairs and political activities, the official said.
Different levels of officials from China’s Taiwan Affairs Office (TAO), United Front Work Department (UFWD) of the Chinese Communist Party’s Central Committee and other groups have used Taiwan’s pro-unification groups and pro-China associations to arrange visits to Taiwan, gradually affecting exchanges using united front strategies, another unnamed source familiar with the matter said.
Trade groups, Chinese-funded firms and the local offices of Chinese businesses have members who also hold Chinese government positions, the source said, adding that these people cooperate with instructions from China.
During former president Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) administration, Xiamen University’s Taiwan Research Institute and other Chinese think tanks researched Taiwan’s political and economic development and social sentiment for a long period in the name of academic cooperation and field research, the source said.
The organizations claimed that hotel costs were too high and rented homes in Taiwan for professors and students, the source said, adding that the groups used this opportunity to collect intelligence.
A suspected “price list” set by the TAO has emerged in a case involving New Party spokesman Wang Ping-chung (王炳忠), a national security official said.
Prosecutors have also found several million yuan in the accounts of other pro-China political parties and groups, the official said.
China has also hinted to political party members that if they gather military information in Taiwan, China would compensate them generously, while others have traveled to China to interact with national security officials and accept funds, the official added.
These cases are difficult to investigate, because it is not easy to prove that the money in those accounts was given by Chinese intelligence agencies or agencies involved with Taiwan, the official said.
Meanwhile, Chinese divisions involved with Taiwan are spread throughout several Chinese party, government and military divisions, including the UFWD, the Taiwan affairs system, think tanks and other divisions, the official said.
Taiwan has continuously tracked China’s attempts to influence Taiwanese politics and society, and has reacted appropriately, they added.
ROLLER-COASTER RIDE: More than five earthquakes ranging from magnitude 4.4 to 5.5 on the Richter scale shook eastern Taiwan in rapid succession yesterday afternoon Back-to-back weather fronts are forecast to hit Taiwan this week, resulting in rain across the nation in the coming days, the Central Weather Administration said yesterday, as it also warned residents in mountainous regions to be wary of landslides and rockfalls. As the first front approached, sporadic rainfall began in central and northern parts of Taiwan yesterday, the agency said, adding that rain is forecast to intensify in those regions today, while brief showers would also affect other parts of the nation. A second weather system is forecast to arrive on Thursday, bringing additional rain to the whole nation until Sunday, it
LANDSLIDES POSSIBLE: The agency advised the public to avoid visiting mountainous regions due to more expected aftershocks and rainfall from a series of weather fronts A series of earthquakes over the past few days were likely aftershocks of the April 3 earthquake in Hualien County, with further aftershocks to be expected for up to a year, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Based on the nation’s experience after the quake on Sept. 21, 1999, more aftershocks are possible over the next six months to a year, the agency said. A total of 103 earthquakes of magnitude 4 on the local magnitude scale or higher hit Hualien County from 5:08pm on Monday to 10:27am yesterday, with 27 of them exceeding magnitude 5. They included two, of magnitude
CONDITIONAL: The PRC imposes secret requirements that the funding it provides cannot be spent in states with diplomatic relations with Taiwan, Emma Reilly said China has been bribing UN officials to obtain “special benefits” and to block funding from countries that have diplomatic ties with Taiwan, a former UN employee told the British House of Commons on Tuesday. At a House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee hearing into “international relations within the multilateral system,” former Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) employee Emma Reilly said in a written statement that “Beijing paid bribes to the two successive Presidents of the [UN] General Assembly” during the two-year negotiation of the Sustainable Development Goals. Another way China exercises influence within the UN Secretariat is
Taiwan’s first drag queen to compete on the internationally acclaimed RuPaul’s Drag Race, Nymphia Wind (妮妃雅), was on Friday crowned the “Next Drag Superstar.” Dressed in a sparkling banana dress, Nymphia Wind swept onto the stage for the final, and stole the show. “Taiwan this is for you,” she said right after show host RuPaul announced her as the winner. “To those who feel like they don’t belong, just remember to live fearlessly and to live their truth,” she said on stage. One of the frontrunners for the past 15 episodes, the 28-year-old breezed through to the final after weeks of showcasing her unique