The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) caucus yesterday said the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) is working with pro-China media in Taiwan and Hong Kong to conduct “cognitive warfare” on behalf of Beijing, targeting DPP Legislator Puma Shen (沈伯洋) with coordinated attacks.
“It began with Chinese state media producing fake content and spreading disinformation to tarnish Shen’s reputation,” DPP caucus chief executive Rosalia Wu (吳思瑤) said.
“Second, pro-China media in Taiwan picked up the narrative, embellishing it with additional allegations, which were then amplified by Chinese-backed online sites, influencers, and pro-China politicians and commentators, creating a feedback loop of escalating attacks against Shen and his father,” she added.
Photo: Gan Mang-ling, Taipei Times
“China and its proxies in Taiwan are exploiting its democracy and freedoms in an attempt to undermine and destroy our democratic system,” she said.
Wu also cited China’s announcement last week of sanctions against Sicuens International Co (兆億), a company headed by Shen’s father, Shen Tu-cheng (沈土城), which prohibits it from doing business with Chinese entities.
China’s state-run Xinhua news agency said the move was to ensure that “Taiwanese independence” supporters do not profit from China.
Puma Shen yesterday said that his father’s business is a Taiwanese business based in Latin America, not a Taiwanese business based in China, and has commercial dealings in many countries.
KMT caucus deputy secretary-general Lo Chih-chiang (羅智強) said that it is normal for Taiwanese businesses to develop in China, adding that it was Puma Shen who viewed such exchanges as abnormal.
“According to [Puma] Shen, any form of cross-strait interaction constitutes a ‘united front’ tactic,” Lo said.
At a news conference held the same day, the KMT said that Shen Tu-cheng had applied for import-export licenses to China using the designation “Taiwan, China.”
The KMT questioned whether Puma Shen would sell out Taiwan’s national defense and security secrets and is qualified to serve as convener of the Legislative Yuan’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee.
KMT spokeswoman Yang Chih-yu (楊智?) said the public hopes for peace across the Taiwan Strait and supports healthy cross-strait exchanges that foster economic prosperity.
“The double standards of the DPP and Puma Shen have been exposed,” she said, adding that while Puma Shen frequently scrutinizes the opposition’s interactions with China, his own father is engaged in business there.
Additional reporting by Lin Hsin-han
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