The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is pushing for residents of Kinmen and Lienchiang counties to acquire Chinese ID cards in a bid to “blur national identities,” a source said.
The efforts are part of China’s promotion of a “Kinmen-Xiamen twin-city living sphere, including a cross-strait integration pilot zone in China’s Fujian Province,” the source said.
“The CCP is already treating residents of these outlying islands as Chinese citizens. It has also intensified its ‘united front’ efforts and infiltration of those islands,” the source said.
Photo: Ann Wang, Reuters
“There is increasing evidence of espionage in Kinmen, particularly of Taiwanese military personnel being recruited by the CCP,” the source added.
The CCP’s issuance of Chinese IDs and residence permits to blur the identities of Taiwanese nationals in Kinmen and Lienchiang is a tactic previously employed by Russia in the Donbas region before the Russia-Ukraine war, they said.
“Granting citizenship to large numbers of pro-Russian residents meant a large number of individuals with dual identities who were less resistant to invasion,” they said, adding that China hopes to replicate that strategy ahead of its own potential invasion plans.
Previously, Taiwanese citizens could only apply for Chinese residence permits if they had lived in Fujian for more than six months, but China recently lifted that requirement to accelerate integration, they said.
“In some cases, Taiwanese can even apply for Chinese ID cards without surrendering their Taiwanese ID or passport, effectively allowing dual identity,” they said.
“The CCP is fully aware of Taiwan’s single-household registration policy, under which holding a Chinese ID would invalidate one’s Taiwanese citizenship, so it deliberately avoids disclosing how many Taiwanese hold Chinese ID cards,” the source added.
An investigation found that Kinmen residents are more likely to have Chinese ID cards than residents of Taiwan proper, they said, adding that Taiwanese with Chinese ID cards are at risk of coercion by the CCP.
“The more Kinmen residents obtain Chinese IDs, the more it will benefit an invading force,” Taiwan National Security Institute Deputy Secretary-General Ho Cheng-hui (何澄輝) said when reached for comment.
“Long-term infiltration in the area would make any invasion or influence operation much easier. The current situation increases the risk of annexation of those outlying counties,” he said.
China would attempt to hide the consequences of obtaining a Chinese ID, he said.
Residents of Lienchiang and Kinmen would be drawn to certain conveniences related to living or working in China afforded by the cards, but those individuals would be forced to make harmful choices once China advances its political goals, he said.
“Getting a Chinese ID is equivalent to pledging allegiance, giving Beijing an opportunity to coerce or blackmail those who get one,” he said.
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