Chinese-hosted competitions open to students in Taiwan and China are often a facade to create opportunities for “united front” rhetoric, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday.
Education providers should be careful when events waive costs, or arrange visits to events or locations that might facilitate “united front” rhetoric, the MAC said.
People who have participated in Chinese-hosted cross-strait competitions told reporters that writing, photography and video contests are often “fixed” in favor of Taiwanese entrants, who are given awards and sent on tours that “glorify China.”
Photo: AP
They are “brainwashing events” that seek to influence participants’ views of China in the name of academic exchanges, a former participant said on condition of anonymity.
The events were likely masterminded by branch offices of China’s Taiwan Affairs Office, the source said.
The experience would easily sway some Taiwanese students, as they would be amazed at the facade of China’s technological achievements, they said.
However, if they look deeper, they would find that while digital transactions in China are convenient, there are issues of personal information security, the source said.
There is a significant Chinese presence on social media platforms such as Douyin, Threads, WeChat and Line that tries to attract Taiwanese students to visit China, a Liberty Times (sister paper of the Taipei Times) investigation showed.
On Threads alone, there are two to five posts a day, with some listing the itinerary of trips and some stating that the visit is free, the Liberty Times reported.
The hotels that Taiwanese groups stay in on such trips are not cheap, with some being five-star hotels, it reported.
Many itineraries include visits to tourist hotspots and say that participants only need to pay their airfare to and from China, it reported.
For example, a workshop for making luosifen (螺螄粉, a noodle soup) from July 4 to 10 has only one day dedicated to making the dish, with the other days spent traveling, the report said.
The event’s description said that anyone under the age of 40 who held a “Taiwan compatriot permit” (台胞證) could attend the workshop, with everyone receiving a luosifen-making certificate, the newspaper reported.
Videos on social media showed Taiwanese studying in China who stated their opposition to Taiwanese independence, it reported, adding that the aim was to whitewash China’s image and undermine Taiwanese autonomy.
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