Beijing is using gang members and the Chinese Unification Promotion Party (CUPP) to infiltrate Taiwan, the Washington Post reported on Monday, detailing cases of espionage, bribery, election interference and information warfare linked to the party and its founder, Chang An-le (張安樂), also known as the “White Wolf.”
A months-long investigation by the Washington Post drew upon court records, corporate filings, social media posts and interviews with Taiwanese security and intelligence officials, CUPP members, the Bamboo Union (竹聯幫) gang and Chang himself.
Chang, “a self-confessed gang member turned political party leader,” and the CUPP support Taiwan’s unification with China, the article said, adding that Chang once told a rally that “both sides of the Taiwan Strait are one family ... only with peaceful unification will Taiwan definitely be safe.”
Photo: Wang Ting-chuan, Taipei Times
Chang established the CUPP in 2004, which is estimated to have about 30,000 members, the article said, citing government data.
The report highlighted the party’s close ties to criminal activity and the Bamboo Union, and quoted experts as saying that it is involved in drug smuggling and online fraud, with Chang having previously served almost a decade in a US prison on drug-smuggling charges.
Authorities have seized nearly 200 firearms from CUPP and Bamboo Union members with ties to the party over the past five years, government data reportedly showed.
“To the government, their organization is a gang,” the article cited Deputy Minister of the Interior Ma Shih-yuan (馬士元) as saying.
“CUPP members frequently meet officials from central and local governments in China, as well as from the United Front Work Department, the Chinese Communist Party [CCP] agency charged with expanding Beijing’s global influence,” the Washington Post said.
Multiple CCP spy networks involving CUPP members have been discovered, while National Security Bureau data showed that the number of people charged with espionage in Taiwan increased more than 500 percent between 2022 and last year, the article said.
For example, CUPP spokesman Chang Meng-chung (張孟崇) and his wife, Hung Wen-ting (洪文婷), were this year indicted for accepting NT$74 million (US$2.43 million) from China to make radio and digital media propaganda to promote the Chinese government’s political agenda and influence the outcome of Taiwan’s elections.
China targets gang members for recruitment as intelligence assets, because it is difficult for them to find legal work and “they ask for very little, yet end up handing over highly classified information,” which they often obtain from Taiwanese military personnel, Paula Yeh (葉麗卿), director of the Ministry of Justice Investigation Bureau’s national security division, said in the article.
The Ministry of the Interior has launched criminal investigations into at least 134 CUPP members, the report said, adding that the ministry has also begun the process of dissolving the party through a petition to the Constitutional Court, on the grounds that it is engaged in organized crime and is contravening national security and anti-foreign-influence laws.
The article quoted Chang as saying that he would simply reconstitute the group.
“They cannot dissolve our belief ... dissolve one party today, and we will form another one the next day,” he said.
Beijing has called any action to dissolve the party an attempt to “wantonly suppress and persecute patriotic unification forces on the island,” the article said.
The Taiwanese passport ranked 33rd in a global listing of passports by convenience this month, rising three places from last month’s ranking, but matching its position in January last year. The Henley Passport Index, an international ranking of passports by the number of designations its holder can travel to without a visa, showed that the Taiwan passport enables holders to travel to 139 countries and territories without a visa. Singapore’s passport was ranked the most powerful with visa-free access to 192 destinations out of 227, according to the index published on Tuesday by UK-based migration investment consultancy firm Henley and Partners. Japan’s and
NATIONAL SECURITY THREAT: An official said that Guan Guan’s comments had gone beyond the threshold of free speech, as she advocated for the destruction of the ROC China-born media influencer Guan Guan’s (關關) residency permit has been revoked for repeatedly posting pro-China content that threatens national security, the National Immigration Agency said yesterday. Guan Guan has said many controversial things in her videos posted to Douyin (抖音), including “the red flag will soon be painted all over Taiwan” and “Taiwan is an inseparable part of China,” while expressing hope for expedited “reunification.” The agency received multiple reports alleging that Guan Guan had advocated for armed reunification last year. After investigating, the agency last month issued a notice requiring her to appear and account for her actions. Guan Guan appeared as required,
Japan and the Philippines yesterday signed a defense pact that would allow the tax-free provision of ammunition, fuel, food and other necessities when their forces stage joint training to boost deterrence against China’s growing aggression in the region and to bolster their preparation for natural disasters. Japan has faced increasing political, trade and security tensions with China, which was angered by Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s remark that a Chinese attack on Taiwan would be a survival-threatening situation for Japan, triggering a military response. Japan and the Philippines have also had separate territorial conflicts with Beijing in the East and South China
A strong cold air mass is expected to arrive tonight, bringing a change in weather and a drop in temperature, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The coldest time would be early on Thursday morning, with temperatures in some areas dipping as low as 8°C, it said. Daytime highs yesterday were 22°C to 24°C in northern and eastern Taiwan, and about 25°C to 28°C in the central and southern regions, it said. However, nighttime lows would dip to about 15°C to 16°C in central and northern Taiwan as well as the northeast, and 17°C to 19°C elsewhere, it said. Tropical Storm Nokaen, currently
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