The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is training social media influencers to promote “united front” work against Taiwan, a government source said on Monday.
The CCP has started offering free influencer training classes in Fujian Province’s Pingtan, which would teach young Taiwanese how to livestream on video platforms such as Douyin (抖音) — turning them into “seeds” for “united front” campaigns, a Taiwanese government official said, who declined to be named.
This is on top of trying to entice Taiwanese to participate in “united front” operations through half-priced cross-strait tour groups, the official said.
Photo: Reuters
The CCP is increasingly focusing its efforts on younger Taiwanese, especially Internet celebrities, they said, citing China’s inviting of several Taiwanese influencers to produce content in Xinjiang and the promotion of youth exchanges in China’s Zhejiang Province as examples.
The influencer training classes in Xiamen and Fujian have about 30 participants each, with some Taiwanese reportedly attending as well, the source said.
The courses are free, participants only pay for their own travel and there are no qualifying restrictions, the source added.
The training focuses on Douyin first, then the CCP assigns people specific assignments, they said, adding that the Taiwanese influencers involved are mostly lesser-known amateurs.
Pingtan serves as the CCP’s base for “united front” work targeting Taiwan, Taiwan Association of University Professors chairman Chen Li-fu (陳俐甫) said.
China has so far been unsuccessful in developing Pingtan as a link to attract Taiwanese businesses and has transitioned to using it for operations targeting young people, Chen said.
As many Taiwanese young people dream of becoming influencers, the CCP has tried to capitalize on the trend by training them to be pro-China, Chen said.
If they follow instructions and create the kind of content the CCP wants, they can receive significant financial “donations,” but if they fail to comply or speak out on sensitive issues, they risk being banned from China or prosecuted under China’s national security regulations, he said.
Young people interested in pursuing this kind of opportunity should be aware of the risks involved, Chen said.
ALIGNED THINKING: Taiwan and Japan have a mutual interest in trade, culture and engineering, and can work together for stability, Cho Jung-tai said Taiwan and Japan are two like-minded countries willing to work together to form a “safety barrier” in the Indo-Pacific region, Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) yesterday said at the opening ceremony of the 35th Taiwan-Japan Modern Engineering and Technology Symposium in Taipei. Taiwan and Japan are close geographically and closer emotionally, he added. Citing the overflowing of a barrier lake in the Mataian River (馬太鞍溪) in September, Cho said the submersible water level sensors given by Japan during the disaster helped Taiwan monitor the lake’s water levels more accurately. Japan also provided a lot of vaccines early in the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic,
Kaohsiung Mayor Chen Chi-mai (陳其邁) on Monday announced light shows and themed traffic lights to welcome fans of South Korean pop group Twice to the port city. The group is to play Kaohsiung on Saturday as part of its “This Is For” world tour. It would be the group’s first performance in Taiwan since its debut 10 years ago. The all-female group consists of five South Koreans, three Japanese and Tainan’s Chou Tzu-yu (周子瑜), the first Taiwan-born and raised member of a South Korean girl group. To promote the group’s arrival, the city has been holding a series of events, including a pop-up
TEMPORAL/SPIRITUAL: Beijing’s claim that the next Buddhist leader must come from China is a heavy-handed political maneuver that will fall flat-faced, experts said China’s requirement that the Dalai Lama’s reincarnation to be born in China and approved by Beijing has drawn criticism, with experts at a forum in Taipei yesterday saying that if Beijing were to put forth its own Dalai Lama, the person would not be recognized by the Tibetan Buddhist community. The experts made a remarks at the two-day forum hosted by the Tibet Religious Foundation of His Holiness the Dalai Lama titled: “The Snow Land Forum: Finding Common Ground on Tibet.” China says it has the right to determine the Dalai Lama’s reincarnation, as it claims sovereignty over Tibet since ancient times,
Temperatures in some parts of Taiwan are expected to fall sharply to lows of 15°C later this week as seasonal northeasterly winds strengthen, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said today. It is to be the strongest cold wave to affect northern Taiwan this autumn, while Chiayi County in the southwest and some parts of central Taiwan are likely to also see lower temperatures due to radiational cooling, which occurs under conditions of clear skies, light winds and dry weather, the CWA said. Across Taiwan, temperatures are to fall gradually this week, dropping to 15°C to 16°C in the early hours of Wednesday
RSS