The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) on Wednesday warned that Beijing often sets up reporting portals to create the illusion of having jurisdiction over Taiwan, after China’s Taiwan Affairs Office (TAO) earlier in the day said that 323 e-mails had been sent to its reporting portal for “Taiwan independence thugs, accomplices and persecutors.”
As of 5pm on Wednesday, the TAO said it had received 323 e-mails about people such as Minister of the Interior Liu Shyh-fang (劉世芳) and YouTuber Pa Chiung (八炯).
Complaints have been lodged against Taiwanese independence figures, public officials and social media influencers, who the TAO pledged to hold accountable “according to the law.”
Photo: CNA
The MAC criticized the portal, saying that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) often sets up reporting portals in an attempt to create the illusion of extraterritorial jurisdiction over Taiwan, calling the tactics a false narrative that has little effect on Taiwanese.
Reports said that the people fabricated accusations to suppress the opposition in Taiwan, threatened to dissolve patriotic pro-unification groups, purposefully detained supporters of peaceful cross-strait relations and encroached on the rights of Chinese-born spouses of Taiwanese by initiating “witch hunts” against them.
Other politicians and officials named in reports include Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) legislators Puma Shen (沈伯洋) and Huang Jie (黃捷), DPP caucus chief executive Rosalia Wu (吳思瑤) and Taipei Prosecutor Lin Ta (林達), TAO spokesman Chen Binhua (陳斌華) said.
Complaints have also been lodged against public figures such as United Microelectronics Corp founder Robert Tsao (曹興誠), the financial backer of nonprofit civil defense organization Kuma Academy, and Taiwanese rapper Chen Po-yuan (陳柏源), he added.
The TAO would investigate the tip-offs and take necessary legal action against the “thugs, accomplices and persecutors,” he said.
Throughout the CCP’s history, informant systems have been used to suppress dissent, the MAC said, adding that once a culture of informing and reporting takes hold, it can be difficult to stop.
The MAC compared the latest move to the Anti-Rightist Campaign in China in the 1950s, in which the CCP purged “rightists” and “intellectuals” from the party and the nation as a whole, enlisting ordinary people as spies and informants.
In Hong Kong, a similar reporting system has resulted in 750,000 complaints, the council said, warning that encouraging informants is political oppression that only escalates the situation and leads to disaster.
The TAO’s tactics would only disrupt and damage cross-strait exchanges, it added.
The MAC again warned Taiwanese to remain vigilant about China’s arbitrary detentions and illegal arrests, urging them to carefully assess personal safety before traveling to China.
Wu said at the Legislative Yuan that “being ‘blacklisted’ by the TAO means I must have spoken the truth, which the CCP does not do.”
She would continue to do and say the right things even if China adds her to a dozen blacklists, she said, adding: “I am not afraid.”
China’s intentions are crystal clear — to extend the long arm of the law to create disturbances in Taiwan’s internal affairs and meddle in Taiwan’s legal system, she said.
Huang on social media said that being named by the office is “a form of recognition,” which she would accept with honor as it signifies her contributions to protecting Taiwan.
Instead of “Taiwan independence thugs,” the TAO should refer to them as “Taiwan defenders,” she added.
Huang said she has proposed many national security bills and reaffirmed her commitment to safeguarding Taiwan.
“Hurry up and classify me as a hardcore Taiwan independence figure,” she added.
Additional reporting by CNA
Taipei has once again made it to the top 100 in Oxford Economics’ Global Cities Index 2025 report, moving up five places from last year to 60. The annual index, which was published last month, evaluated 1,000 of the most populated metropolises based on five indices — economics, human capital, quality of life, environment and governance. New York maintained its top spot this year, placing first in the economics index thanks to the strength of its vibrant financial industry and economic stability. Taipei ranked 263rd in economics, 44th in human capital, 15th in quality of life, 284th for environment and 75th in governance,
Greenpeace yesterday said that it is to appeal a decision last month by the Taipei High Administrative Court to dismiss its 2021 lawsuit against the Ministry of Economic Affairs over “loose” regulations governing major corporate electricity consumers. The climate-related lawsuit — the first of its kind in Taiwan — sought to require the government to enforce higher green energy thresholds on major corporations to reduce emissions in light of climate change and an uptick in extreme weather. The suit, filed by Greenpeace East Asia, the Environmental Jurists Association and four individual plaintiffs, was dismissed on May 8 following four years of litigation. The
A former officer in China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) who witnessed the aftermath of the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre has warned that Taiwan could face a similar fate if China attempts to unify the country by force. Li Xiaoming (李曉明), who was deployed to Beijing as a junior officer during the crackdown, said Taiwanese people should study the massacre carefully, because it offers a glimpse of what Beijing is willing to do to suppress dissent. “What happened in Tiananmen Square could happen in Taiwan too,” Li told CNA in a May 22 interview, ahead of the massacre’s 36th anniversary. “If Taiwanese students or
The New Taipei City Government would assist relatives of those killed or injured in last month’s car-ramming incident in Sansia District (三峽) to secure compensation, Mayor Hou You-yi (侯友宜) said yesterday, two days after the driver died in a hospital. “The city government will do its best to help the relatives of the car crash incident seek compensation,” Hou said. The mayor also said that the city’s Legal Affairs, Education and Social Welfare departments have established a joint mechanism to “provide coordinated assistance” to victims and their families. Three people were killed and 12 injured when a car plowed into schoolchildren and their
RSS