President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) yesterday warned Taiwanese about cognitive warfare against the nation and denied rumors that Taiwan was planning to receive water from Japan’s Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant.
The remarks came in response to a Twitter user who late on Thursday posted a document that the user claimed was from Presidential Office and showed that water from the wrecked plant was to be processed in Taiwan.
The tweet was widely shared.
Photo: Lee Hsin-fang, Taipei Times
Presidential Office spokesman Xavier Chang (張惇涵) in a statement yesterday said that the document was “a complete fabrication” and uses language that would not be used in a government document.
Tsai on Facebook reiterated the statement, saying that errors and the use of simplified Chinese suggest that the creator of the document was not familiar with Taiwan.
The social media post is “a typical example of cognitive warfare,” Tsai said, without elaborating who might be behind the document.
Threatening activities by military aircraft and ships, as well as spreading fake news to undermine the solidarity of society, are common cognitive warfare strategies, Tsai said, adding that cognitive warfare would likely become more sophisticated.
Taiwanese should be aware that disinformation from unknown sources might serve a cognitive warfare agenda, Tsai said, adding that people should not further spread such social media posts.
“Taiwan’s freedom is hard-won, and we will not allow cognitive warfare to tear apart our society,” Tsai said.
INCREASED RISK: The Omicron BA.2.75 subvariant has higher immune evasive capacity, but the CECC is more concerned about newer subvariants such as XBB and BQ.1 With the peak season for infectious respiratory diseases coming to an end, the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) yesterday said that details of the next phase of lifting COVID-19 masking rules — removing the mask requirement in most indoor settings — are to be announced this week. Discussions on lifting other COVID-19 restrictions are also being held, including further easing border control measures, home isolation requirements and revising the definition for reporting cases, while also downgrading COVID-19 to a lower category of notifiable communicable disease, said Deputy Minister of Health and Welfare Victor Wang (王必勝), who heads the CECC. As the daily
GUT FEELING: In the leaked memo, US Air Force General Mike Minihan urged mobile command personnel to go to a firing range, shoot at a target and ‘aim for the head’ A four-star US Air Force general has warned of a conflict with China as early as 2025 — most likely over Taiwan — and urged his commanders to push their units to achieve maximum operational battle readiness this year. In an internal memorandum that first emerged on social media on Friday, and was later confirmed as genuine by the Pentagon, Air Mobility Command Commander General Mike Minihan said that the main goal should be to deter “and, if required, defeat” China. “I hope I am wrong. My gut tells me we will fight in 2025,” Minihan said. Minihan said that Taiwan’s presidential election
PEACE AND STABILITY: The two nations called for the peaceful resolution of cross-Taiwan Strait issues through dialogue without the threat or use of force or coercion The Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday thanked France and Australia for voicing their support for Taiwan, saying that peace across the Taiwan Strait is crucial to the stability and prosperity of international society. France and Australia on Monday pledged to deepen ties with Taiwan and reiterated their support for its participation in international organizations at this year’s Foreign and Defense Ministerial Consultations in Paris. The meeting between French Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs Catherine Colonna, French Minister of the Armed Forces Sebastien Lecornu, Australian Minister for Foreign Affairs Penny Wong (黃英賢) and Australian Minister for Defence Richard Marles was the second
DEMOCRATIC SYSTEM: Czech president-elect Petr Pavel said his nation stands firmly on the side of democracy and would boost cooperation with Taipei in all aspects Czech president-elect Petr Pavel spoke by telephone with President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) yesterday, a highly unusual move given the lack of formal ties and a diplomatic coup for Taipei. Tsai spoke with Pavel for 15 minutes in a harmonious atmosphere, Presidential Office spokeswoman Lin Yu-chan (林聿禪) said, adding that Minister of Foreign Affairs Joseph Wu (吳釗燮) was also present during the conversation. Lin quoted Pavel as telling Tsai that Taiwan is a trustworthy partner, adding that the Czech Republic stands firmly on the side of democracy and supports Taiwan in maintaining a lively democratic system free from authoritarian coercion. The Czech Republic would