Forming or joining a political party in Taiwan under instructions from the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) would be “crossing the red line,” the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday on the latest alleged CCP approach to influencing Taiwan.
Singer Alexis Ho (何以奇) and musician Hsieh Ho-hsien (謝和弦) in June said they were among a group of Taiwanese entertainers who received letters urging them to join a political party backed by NT$450 million (US$14.6 million) from “overseas sources.”
More recently, Ho disclosed that she received instructions on a “plan to build a new cross-strait relationship,” which would involve the establishment of a “Taiwan Embrace Peace Party” (台灣擁和黨), with Ho serving as the party’s deputy chairman.
Photo: Screen grab from Alexis Ho’s Facebook page
The party would then participate in the 2026 local elections with the aim of securing the mayorship of at least one city or county, she said, adding that it would also aim for 10 party members to secure positions as municipal or county councilors.
As the Ministry of the Interior said in June, anyone who forms a political party or develops a networking organization at the direction of foreign entities or with financial support from abroad could be contravening the National Security Act (國家安全法) or the Anti-Infiltration Act (反滲透法), the MAC said yesterday.
The National Security Act in particular prohibits “initiating, funding, hosting, manipulating, directing or developing an organization” for “a foreign country, Mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau” or “organizations, institutions, or groups established or substantially controlled by them,” it said.
Additionally, the Anti-Infiltration Act stipulates that “no one may be instructed, entrusted, or funded by foreign hostile forces to engage in activities that disrupt social order, spread false information or interfere with elections,” it said.
Article 33-1 of the Act Governing Relations Between the People of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area (臺灣地區與大陸地區人民關係條例) also prohibits “any cooperative activity of a political nature with any individual, juristic person, organization, or other institution of the Mainland Area.”
“The Republic of China Constitution guarantees freedom of speech and political participation, but that which involves cooperation with the CCP crosses the legal red line,” MAC said, adding that the government would investigate all cases of suspected collaboration with the CCP.
Separately, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) caucus chief executive Rosalia Wu (吳思瑤) yesterday said that Taiwanese artists who work in China have always been forced to express support for the CCP’s united front efforts.
If Taiwan’s democratic elections are infiltrated through those efforts, the consequences would be “catastrophic,” she said.
“We must take a serious look at the possibility that legislators from China could be elected into Taiwan’s Legislative Yuan,” she said.
“We call on national security officials to respond sternly to those suspected of cooperating with China’s united front,” she added.
Additional reporting by Liao Chia-ning
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