Top aides of Vice President William Lai (賴清德), the Democratic Progressive Party’s (DPP) presidential candidate, have formed a new strategy to counter disinformation and personal attacks against Lai from opposition parties.
Since Lai confirmed his candidacy, opposition parties have been promoting a false narrative that US leaders do not trust him, to sow skepticism at home and abroad, a DPP insider said on condition of anonymity.
The DPP formed an interdepartmental “Task Force to Combat Cognitive Warfare” to coordinate actions and provide a swift response, including clarifying issues, dispelling rumors and limiting damage from disinformation and false reports, the source said.
Photo: Chu Pei-hsiung, Taipei Times
“In recent weeks, opposition parties and certain media outlets have again raised the ‘US doubting Lai’ theory and further expanded on it,” the source said.
“It is a continuation of the cognitive warfare from last year, which initially targeted Lai’s family,” claiming that Lai’s two sons have US green cards, to insinuate that they would not serve if war breaks out, the source said.
The opposition also focused on the political wrangling and crime in Tainan in further attempts to undermine Lai, who served as city mayor from 2010 to 2017, the source said.
Quoting other DPP figures, the party source said that after it became apparent that these personal attacks did not have much effect, the opposition turned to disinformation, raising doubts about Lai’s competency on national governance and foreign affairs, and rumors of friction between Lai and President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文).
Lai’s advisers have identified three main tactics that the opposition uses to discredit Lai: tarnishing his image, questioning his governance and foreign affairs acumen, and arousing public anxiety by emphasizing the threat of war, the DPP source said.
The DPP task force is already at work, coordinating efforts between the party’s public information section, new media center and social movements section, as well as working with local chapters and affiliated organizations to monitor and report disinformation, and formulate an immediate response by issuing a statement of clarification or memes that are disseminated through social media, the sources said.
‘DENIAL DEFENSE’: The US would increase its military presence with uncrewed ships, and submarines, while boosting defense in the Indo-Pacific, a Pete Hegseth memo said The US is reorienting its military strategy to focus primarily on deterring a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan, a memo signed by US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth showed. The memo also called on Taiwan to increase its defense spending. The document, known as the “Interim National Defense Strategic Guidance,” was distributed this month and detailed the national defense plans of US President Donald Trump’s administration, an article in the Washington Post said on Saturday. It outlines how the US can prepare for a potential war with China and defend itself from threats in the “near abroad,” including Greenland and the Panama
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) is maintaining close ties with Beijing, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) said yesterday, hours after a new round of Chinese military drills in the Taiwan Strait began. Political parties in a democracy have a responsibility to be loyal to the nation and defend its sovereignty, DPP spokesman Justin Wu (吳崢) told a news conference in Taipei. His comments came hours after Beijing announced via Chinese state media that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s Eastern Theater Command was holding large-scale drills simulating a multi-pronged attack on Taiwan. Contrary to the KMT’s claims that it is staunchly anti-communist, KMT Deputy
RESPONSE: The government would investigate incidents of Taiwanese entertainers in China promoting CCP propaganda online in contravention of the law, the source said Taiwanese entertainers living in China who are found to have contravened cross-strait regulations or collaborated with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) could be subject to fines, a source said on Sunday. Several Taiwanese entertainers have posted on the social media platform Sina Weibo saying that Taiwan “must be returned” to China, and sharing news articles from Chinese state media. In response, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) has asked the Ministry of Culture to investigate whether the entertainers had contravened any laws, and asked for them to be questioned upon their return to Taiwan, an official familiar with the matter said. To curb repeated
Myanmar has turned down an offer of assistance from Taiwanese search-and-rescue teams after a magnitude 7.7 earthquake struck the nation on Friday last week, saying other international aid is sufficient, the National Fire Agency said yesterday. More than 1,700 have been killed and 3,400 injured in the quake that struck near the central Myanmar city of Mandalay early on Friday afternoon, followed minutes later by a magnitude 6.7 aftershock. Worldwide, 13 international search-and-rescue teams have been deployed, with another 13 teams mobilizing, the agency said. Taiwan’s search-and-rescue teams were on standby, but have since been told to stand down, as
RSS