About 20 Taiwanese entertainers working in China are under investigation for allegedly amplifying Chinese Communist Party (CCP) propaganda during Chinese military exercises and other occasions, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday.
MAC Minister Chiu Chui-cheng (邱垂正) on an online talk show on Wednesday said that the council is investigating certain entertainers who allegedly colluded with the CCP to sway public opinion in Taiwan, adding that they would be penalized for contravening cross-strait regulations.
In a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee yesterday, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Hsu Chiao-hsin (徐巧芯) and Democratic Progressive Party legislators Michelle Lin (林楚茵) and Lee Kun-cheng (李坤城) asked MAC Deputy Minister Shen Yu-chung (沈有忠) about the progress of the investigations and whether a list of the entertainers would be disclosed.
Photo: CNA
Shen said that some Taiwanese entertainers choose to side with China for business opportunities.
“What we cannot accept is that they coordinate with the Chinese government by sharing specific content online at specific moments. They have even helped amplify the effects of such content to lower the morale of Taiwanese,” he said.
In the past, the council hoped that entertainers in China would show some self-restraint when commenting on political issues, Shen said.
However, such intention only emboldened the CCP to overstep its boundaries, he said.
The council and the Ministry of Culture launched a joint investigation targeting about 20 Taiwanese entertainers in China to determine if they have contravened 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), Shen said.
The article bans individuals, juristic persons, organizations or other institutions in Taiwan from engaging in any form of cooperative activity with political parties, the military or administration of any political nature in China.
The Ministry of Culture would conduct a preliminary investigation using objective standards, such as sharing messages on Chinese government Web sites, participating in activities organized by the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference or giving verbal statements that downgrade Taiwan’s sovereignty, Shen said.
There are two lines they must cross to be penalized, including if they explicitly express that Taiwan’s sovereignty must be completely annihilated and advocate unification by force, and if they are meant to damage freedom and democracy protected by the Constitution, the council said.
They would be given a chance to defend their actions before any punishment would be imposed, Shen said.
MAC Deputy Minister Liang Wen-chieh (梁文傑) told a news conference yesterday that the entertainers would be held accountable, even if they claim that their comments were posted by their agents.
“The purpose of the punishment is to give these entertainers a reason to refuse the CCP’s demand to make pro-China comments,” Liang said.
Meanwhile, Shen told lawmakers that the council is aware of certain content on Xiaohongshu (小紅書), also known as Little Red Book, that is designed to instruct Chinese on how to use business trips as a cover for travel around Taiwan or for celebrity fan activities.
“We would review the purpose of the trips and verify if they are indeed business travelers. The National Immigration Agency would intensify the inspections,” Shen said.
Chinese who fake the purpose of their travel would be banned from entering the country for seven years, while brokers of such illegal services would be banned from business practice from six months to five years and could receive criminal punishment for forgery and other offenses.
Separately, the council yesterday confirmed that it has approved applications from 371 Chinese athletes who are scheduled to participate in the World Masters Games, which open tomorrow.
“We have received intelligence that some would come to advocate unification with Taiwan by force,” Liang said, adding that it had denied entry permit applications to two Chinese on these grounds.
While it is inevitable that some people would travel around Taiwan after the Games, Liang said that they should heed their word while here, adding that their entry permits would be revoked if they advocate unification by force or make other comments belittling Taiwan’s sovereignty.
Applications for religious exchange filed by Chinese temples would be under closer scrutiny, after China’s Fumei Temple bypassed legal procedures prescribed for cross-strait religious events, Liang added.
The temple’s delegation first asked the Taiwan Wangye Alliance Association to escort a statue of the Taoist deity Xiao Taifu (蕭太傅) from Fumei Temple to Taiwan, and members of delegation arrived through another group invited by the Yilan County Farmers’ Association.
“As an atheist nation, China does not recognize any religion. These temples are travel destinations run by people appointed by the Chinese government, rather than by genuine believers,” Liang said.
“The real purpose of their pilgrimage is to show their god has supreme authority over similar gods here, the same claim that China has over Taiwan. Religious exchanges that include a pilgrimage around Taiwan are not likely to be approved in the future,” Liang added.
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