Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Wang Ting-yu (王定宇) and National Security Council Deputy Secretary-General Lin Fei-fan (林飛帆) yesterday said they have come under personal attack on social media, a day after China’s Taiwan Affairs Office (TAO) added a new section titled “diehard Taiwanese independence separatists” to its Web site.
Lin said he has filed a complaint to police, requesting that they investigate defamation and other accusations against him that began circulating on social media on Thursday.
One post claimed that “Lin got arrested after procuring sex from a prostitute ... and then was released quickly, as the government wanted to suppress this news,” Lin said.
Photo: Taipei Times
Another post alleged that “Lin is receiving a high salary, higher than for a Cabinet minister,” Lin said, adding that these are all baseless accusations and asking people not to further disseminate these personal attacks against him.
Lin said the accusations are “absurd” and are personal attacks targeting him.
Separately, Wang said he had received messages threatening to kill him and his family.
Lin and Wang are among the 10 “diehard Taiwanese independence separatists” listed on the TAO Web site.
The list also includes Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) and Minister of National Defense Wellington Koo (顧立雄).
DPP Legislator Hung Sun-han (洪申翰) yesterday said that “it is quite clearly a systematic smear campaign by China targeting Lin and Wang, right after the TAO published the list.”
“We ask the public and all media outlets to stop circulating this disinformation,” Hung said.
DPP spokeswoman Tai Wei-shan (戴瑋姍) said that the coordinated attack against Lin and Wang is part of China’s cognitive warfare, while some Taiwanese and media were collaborating by disseminating fake news on social media and generating online discussion.
Tai asked the judiciary to fully investigate the case.
Wang is to file a complaint for a judicial investigation, but said that people should not be frightened by intimidation from China.
“Society must take a common stance, that when facing a belligerent China aiming for a hostile military takeover, that we must have no fear fighting against it,” Wang said.
“If we cower in fear, then China would step up its scare tactics, using stronger ways to intimidate us. Taiwanese must unite to counter China’s intimidation, working together to safeguard our freedom and democratic values, and to protect our national interests,” he said.
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