A video circulating on TikTok alleging that the US is hoping to provoke war in the Taiwan Strait to contain China is disinformation, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) said yesterday.
China actively engages in cognitive warfare aimed at causing instability in Taiwan, the ministry said, adding that Beijing frequently uses streaming services such as TikTok and YouTube to spread disinformation.
Another aim of China’s cognitive warfare efforts is to push Beijing’s “one China” narrative in the international community, it said.
Photo: Reuters
“Spreading videos that claim the US wants to provoke China into launching a war across the Taiwan Strait is an attempt to construct an excuse for China’s military activity that threatens Taiwan,” it said.
“Tensions in the Taiwan Strait have never been caused by the actions of Taiwan, the US or any other democratic country,” it said.
Beijing’s ambition is to expand Chinese territory, and toward this end, it aims to change the “status quo” in the Taiwan Strait, it said.
China also frequently uses Taiwan’s international exchanges, and its participation in world events as an excuse for military provocation, which has been the greatest threat to peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait, and in the Indo-Pacific region as a whole, it said.
Such provocations are having a converse effect for China, as they have resulted in strengthened support for Taiwan in the international community, it said.
“G7 countries have repeatedly reiterated their opposition to unilateral changes to the ‘status quo’ in the Taiwan Strait, and have stated their belief in the importance of peace and stability in the Strait,” it said.
That stability would be immediately achieved if China were to stop provoking Taiwan and stop threatening the use of military force against Taiwan, it said.
Taiwan will continue to work closely with like-minded countries to jointly defend the rules-based international order and maintain a free and open Indo-Pacific region, it said.
The public is advised to always verify information sources and to be alert to disinformation, it said.
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