Chinese spouses of Taiwanese who make videos about their lives in Taiwan have been facing online threats from people in China, a source said yesterday.
Some young Chinese spouses of Taiwanese make videos about their lives in Taiwan, often speaking favorably about their living conditions in the nation compared with those in China, the source said.
However, the videos have caught the attention of Chinese officials, causing the spouses to come under attack by Beijing’s cyberarmy, they said.
Photo: Screen grab from YouTube
“People have been messing with the YouTube channels of these Chinese spouses and have been harassing their family members back in China,” they said.
There are about 380,000 Chinese spouses of Taiwanese living in Taiwan, and some of them demonstrate great support for Taiwan, they said.
“For example, they talk about the nation’s public healthcare system, rule of law and governmental efficiency, which they say are all better than those in China,” they said. “Authorities in Beijing have expressed discontent over those videos.”
The source said that such YouTubers could suddenly find their channels flooded with negative comments accusing the YouTuber of being bribed by the Democratic Progressive Party, questioning their credibility or making threats.
“There are about 80 Chinese spouses in Taiwan who are YouTubers, all of whom are young and highly educated and want to live more freely,” they said.
“Taiwan’s democratic and free way of life is enticing to them, and they want to share their experiences here — but the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is threatened by that and launches attacks.”
The government would continue to monitor the situation and would take action if any laws are broken, they said.
“The videos that these YouTubers make do not touch on politics. They are simply videos made to share their experiences of everyday life in Taiwan,” National Cheng Kung University political science professor Hung Chin-fu (洪敬富) said.
However, because democratic elections and easy access to healthcare are things that the average person in China has no experience of, the CCP is threatened by Chinese seeing such content, he said.
“This type of content is especially impactful amid China’s sluggish economy. Seeing a Chinese living freely and happily in Taiwan could cause a reactionary force in China,” he said.
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