Beijing aims to establish a political party in Taiwan using Taiwanese entertainers and social media influencers to attract members, people who have allegedly received a prospectus letter from China said yesterday.
Singer Alexis Ho (何以奇) and musician Hsieh Ho-hsien (謝和弦), also known as “R-chord” were among those who told reporters they received letters sent from a media company based in Beijing.
They said the letters outlined a plan to form a party with funding of about NT$450 million (US$13.91 million).
Photo: AP
The “Taiwan Support Peace Party” (台灣擁和黨), would not be affiliated with the pan-blue or pan-green camps, so it could work with either, Ho quoted the letter as saying, adding that its central tenet would be promoting peace.
She said she knows of other entertainers who have received the letters, which allegedly claim they could earn more than NT$10 million a year working with more than 10 media companies in China ready to offer advertising and endorsement deals, music concerts, TV shows and public appearances.
The prospectus allegedly promised that affiliation with the party would not bring participants any trouble and they were not required to invest any money, she said.
However, they must agree to a statement, titled “Establishing New Forms of Cross-strait Relations,” and endorse it by posting on their social media accounts, Ho said.
The NT$450 million has been registered in a fund in a tax haven bank in the Caribbean, which can be channeled into Taiwan, the letter allegedly says, as overseas donations and financial support for political groups are restricted in Taiwan.
Entertainers and prominent figures would take up party leadership positions, while media companies in Beijing and Henan Province would handle funding and other efforts, the letter allegedly says, adding that the party would field candidates in the 2026 nine-in-one local elections.
Hsieh said he had received the letter three times, inviting him to join as a “founding member,” while promising financial rewards through work in China.
He said it mentioned convening a party congress in Taipei next month.
The letter claimed to already have a comprehensive list of Taiwanese actors, TV hosts, models, news anchors, content creators and social media influencers, and has recruited a famous singer as the party chairperson, as well as another prominent celebrity as a deputy chairperson, both of whom were reportedly previously close to the Democratic Progressive Party, Hsieh said.
It is clear that China’s new “united front” campaign aims to use local celebrities and online personalities to influence younger Taiwanese, he said.
“For me, I refused them... I grew up in Nantou County’s Puli Township (埔里), and I am a proud Taiwanese. As for China’s promise of money, no thanks. I can earn NT$10 million through my own honest work,” Hsieh wrote online.
The Mainland Affairs Council said that it is aware of the letters, and would strive to verify the information, adding that Taiwanese entertainers could run afoul of the law and possibly contravene the Anti-Infiltration Act (反滲透法) if funding for the party originated from the Chinese government or the Chinese Communist Party.
CHAOS: Iranians took to the streets playing celebratory music after reports of Khamenei’s death on Saturday, while mourners also gathered in Tehran yesterday Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed in a major attack on Iran launched by Israel and the US, throwing the future of the Islamic republic into doubt and raising the risk of regional instability. Iranian state television and the state-run IRNA news agency announced the 86-year-old’s death early yesterday. US President Donald Trump said it gave Iranians their “greatest chance” to “take back” their country. The announcements came after a joint US and Israeli aerial bombardment that targeted Iranian military and governmental sites. Trump said the “heavy and pinpoint bombing” would continue through the week or as long
An Emirates flight from Dubai arrived at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport yesterday afternoon, the first service of the airline since the US and Israel launched strikes against Iran on Saturday. Flight EK366 took off from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) at 3:51am yesterday and landed at 4:02pm before taxiing to the airport’s D6 gate at Terminal 2 at 4:08pm, data from the airport and FlightAware, a global flight tracking site, showed. Of the 501 passengers on the flight, 275 were Taiwanese, including 96 group tour travelers, the data showed. Tourism Administration Deputy Director-General Huang He-ting (黃荷婷) greeted Taiwanese passengers at the airport and
TRUST: The KMT said it respected the US’ timing and considerations, and hoped it would continue to honor its commitments to helping Taiwan bolster its defenses and deterrence US President Donald Trump is delaying a multibillion-dollar arms sale to Taiwan to ensure his visit to Beijing is successful, a New York Times report said. The weapons sales package has stalled in the US Department of State, the report said, citing US officials it did not identify. The White House has told agencies not to push forward ahead of Trump’s meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平), it said. The two last month held a phone call to discuss trade and geopolitical flashpoints ahead of the summit. Xi raised the Taiwan issue and urged the US to handle arms sales to
State-run CPC Corp, Taiwan (CPC, 台灣中油) yesterday said that it had confirmed on Saturday night with its liquefied natural gas (LNG) and crude oil suppliers that shipments are proceeding as scheduled and that domestic supplies remain unaffected. The CPC yesterday announced the gasoline and diesel prices will rise by NT$0.2 and NT$0.4 per liter, respectively, starting Monday, citing Middle East tensions and blizzards in the eastern United States. CPC also iterated it has been reducing the proportion of crude oil imports from the Middle East and diversifying its supply sources in the past few years in response to geopolitical risks, expanding
RSS