The government believes China is set to renew a charm offensive targeting “opinion leaders” to win hearts and minds as Taiwan gears up for a presidential election in less than a year, a security agency said in an internal report.
China has long taken a carrot-and-stick approach to Taiwan, threatening it with the prospect of military action while reaching out to Taiwanese it believes are amenable to Beijing’s point of view.
As Taipei and Beijing gradually resume travel links halted by the COVID-19 pandemic, Taiwanese security officials expect China to relaunch an “united front” push that in the past included all-expenses-paid trips to China for Taiwanese politicians.
Photo: REUTERS
From this month, the campaign would focus on invitations for “opinion leaders” to visit China, a security agency looking into Chinese activities in Taiwan said in the classified report, a copy of which was reviewed by Reuters.
“The Chinese Communist Party is developing its exchange programs with Taiwan for the year. Various Taiwan-related agencies will gradually resume their invitations to Taiwan people on all levels to visit the mainland,” the agency said a report released last month, citing intelligence information.
With the presidential election due in January next year, officials worry that Beijing could try to stir animosity toward the government of President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文).
China, which has never renounced the use of force, has over the past few years ramped up pressure on Taiwan, including staging regular military exercises near its coasts.
Beijing is expected to try to use its campaign to sway the public to support political parties that are more open to “unification,” or at least to building closer ties.
“They might want Taiwanese to support certain political parties who support closer economic ties with the mainland,” a security official investigating the matter told Reuters.
The official, who declined to be identified, said China could invite a range of people beyond political and business leaders in the hope of quietly promoting its political ideology.
“The exchange programs may come in the name of sports, culture or commerce, but what we are worried about is what’s being said privately,” the official said.
The report did not single out an individuals or parties that the government believes could be targeted in the campaign, but Beijing has long-standing contacts with the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT), which traditionally favors close ties with China, but strongly denies being pro-Beijing.
KMT Vice Chairman Andrew Hsia (夏立言) visited Beijing last month for meetings with top Chinese officials, a trip the KMT said would “effectively de-escalate tensions” and improve communications.
Also last month, a group of Chinese officials made their first visit to Taiwan in three years to attend a cultural event in Taipei.
Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) of the KMT welcomed them.
The KMT said the government had approved the officials’ visit and had been calling for efforts to “break the ice” with Beijing.
The KMT also rejected any notion that the opposition was the target of China’s effort.
“Why only say that this is Beijing’s unilateral ‘charm offensive’ targeting opposition parties?” the KMT said in a statement to Reuters. “Even the United States encourages exchanges across the Taiwan Strait and peaceful dialogue.”
It said that Tsai’s Democratic Progressive Party had failed to take the initiative to reduce tension and improve communication, leaving it to the KMT to do so.
Security agencies are closely monitoring Chinese groups in Taiwan, including China’s quasi-governmental organizations responsible for issues from trade to tourism, as well as Chinese students, the report said.
A second senior security official said Taiwan should be “on high alert” for efforts by China to press its message on unification.
“They are looking for a window of opportunity to bypass the Taiwan authorities,” the official said.
Travel agencies in Taiwan are working to secure alternative flights for travelers bound for New Zealand for the Lunar New Year holiday, as Air New Zealand workers are set to strike next week. The airline said that it has confirmed that the planned industrial action by its international wide-body cabin crew would go ahead on Thursday and Friday next week. While the Auckland-based carrier pledged to take reasonable measures to mitigate the impact of the workers’ strike, an Air New Zealand flight arriving at Taipei from Auckland on Thursday and another flight departing from Taipei for Auckland on Saturday would have to
The Taipei City Government yesterday confirmed that it has negotiated a royalties of NT$12.2 billion (US$380 million) with artificial intelligence (AI) chip giant Nvidia Corp, with the earliest possible signing date set for Wednesday next week. The city has been preparing for Nvidia to build its Taiwan headquarters in Beitou-Shilin Technology Park since last year, and the project has now entered its final stage before the contract is signed. Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) said the city government has completed the royalty price negotiations and would now push through the remaining procedures to sign the contract before
Taipei Zoo welcomes the Lunar New Year this year through its efforts to protect an endangered species of horse native to central Asia that was once fully extinct outside of captivity. The festival ushering in the Year of the Horse would draw attention to the zoo’s four specimens of Przewalski’s horse, named for a Russian geographer who first encountered them in the late 19th century across the steppes of western Mongolia. “Visitors will look at the horses and think that since this is the Year of the Horse: ‘I want to get to know horses,’” said zookeeper Chen Yun-chieh, who has been
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Thursday said the name of the Taiwanese Representative Office in Lithuania was agreed by both sides, after Lithuania’s prime minister described a 2021 decision to let Taiwan set up a de facto embassy in Vilnius as a “mistake.” Lithuanian Prime Minister Inga Ruginiene, who entered office in September last year, told the Baltic News Service on Tuesday that Lithuania had begun taking “small first steps” aimed at restoring ties with Beijing. The ministry in a statement said that Taiwan and Lithuania are important partners that share the values of freedom and democracy. Since the establishment of the
RSS