The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) caucus yesterday said that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) would attempt to influence next year’s elections via six moves and urged opposition parties not to dance to the CCP’s tune.
The DPP caucus also warned the public not to take information at face value and fall for the CCP’s attempts to divide Taiwan from within.
DPP caucus director Liu Shyh-fang (劉世芳) said that China would attempt to influence the elections via military maneuvers, weaponizing the economy, mobilizing pro-unification sympathizers and exhorting Chinese-funded groups to offer money in exchange for classified military information.
Photo: Liao Chen-huei, Taipei Times
Pro-China individuals could act for China by offering to buy plane tickets for pro-unification Taiwanese to return home and vote in China’s favor, Liu added.
She said it was “pathetic to hear” the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) was still speaking in favor of Lin Huai (林懷), chairman of the Association of Taiwan Investment Enterprises’ Changsha City Branch, whose guilty verdict was upheld by the Supreme Court last week.
He was accused of receiving funds from the CCP and using them to encourage others to cast their presidential ballot in the 2020 election for then-KMT presidential candidate Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜) and their party ballot for the KMT.
DPP caucus secretary-general Chuang Jui-hsiung (莊瑞雄) said that much of China’s actions toward Taiwan are “normalized measures” that would continue as long as Taiwan refuses to bow to China’s will, regardless of which political party wins the election.
Chinese Ambassador to the US Xie Feng’s (謝鋒) comments at the Aspen Security Forum on Thursday that “Taiwan is China’s Taiwan” and referring to Vice President William Lai (賴清德) — the DPP’s presidential candidate — as a “gray rhino charging at us” were absurd and an attempt to influence the elections, Chuang said.
STAY AWAY: An official said people should avoid disturbing snakes, as most do not actively attack humans, but would react defensively if threatened Taitung County authorities yesterday urged the public to stay vigilant and avoid disturbing snakes in the wild, following five reported snakebite cases in the county so far this year. Taitung County Fire Department secretary Lin Chien-cheng (林建誠) said two of the cases were in Donghe Township (東河) and involved the Taiwan habus, one person was bit by a Chinese pit viper near the South Link Railway and the remaining two were caused by unidentified snakes. He advised residents near fields to be cautious of snakes hiding in shady indoor areas, especially when entering or leaving their homes at night. In case of a
A tropical disturbance off the southeastern coast of the Philippines might become the first typhoon of the western Pacific typhoon season, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The system lacks a visible center and how it would develop is only likely to become clear on Sunday or Monday, the CWA said, adding that it was not yet possible to forecast the potential typhoon's effect on Taiwan. The American Meteorological Society defines a tropical disturbance as a system made up of showers and thunderstorms that lasts for at least 24 hours and does not have closed wind circulation.
ENERGY RESILIENCE: Although Alaska is open for investments, Taiwan is sourcing its gas from the Middle East, and the sea routes carry risks, Ho Cheng-hui said US government officials’ high-profile reception of a Taiwanese representative at the Alaska Sustainable Energy Conference indicated the emergence of an Indo-Pacific energy resilience alliance, an academic said. Presidential Office Secretary-General Pan Men-an (潘孟安) attended the conference in Alaska on Thursday last week at the invitation of the US government. Pan visited oil and gas facilities with senior US officials, including US Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum, US Secretary of Energy Chris Wright, Alaska Governor Mike Dunleavy and US Senator Daniel Sullivan. Pan attending the conference on behalf of President William Lai (賴清德) shows a significant elevation in diplomatic representation,
Credit departments of farmers’ and fishers’ associations blocked a total of more than NT$180 million (US$6.01 million) from being lost to scams last year, National Police Agency (NPA) data showed. The Agricultural Finance Agency (AFA) said last week that staff of farmers’ and fishers’ associations’ credit departments are required to implement fraud prevention measures when they serve clients at the counter. They would ask clients about personal financial management activities whenever they suspect there might be a fraud situation, and would immediately report the incident to local authorities, which would send police officers to the site to help, it said. NPA data showed
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