Legislative Speaker Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜) yesterday denied allegations that China had supported his campaigns for office, calling it a “cheap and clumsy” smear campaign and a diversion from the administration’s failings.
Japan’s Yomiuri Shimbun on Saturday reported that a recording, which surfaced online in October, suggested that the Chinese Communist Party had interfered in Taiwan’s elections and played a role in Han’s 2018 election as Kaohsiung mayor.
National security officials believe the recording captures a conversation between officials from the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Strategic Support Force and the head of a Beijing-based intelligence analysis firm, made ahead of the 2018 local elections, the report said.
Photo: Taipei Times file photo
In the alleged recording, a senior PLA official reportedly said: “Even if [Han Kuo-yu] does not win, he would eventually be elected.”
The discussion reportedly included mention of 20 million yuan (US$2.85 million) budget to help Kuo’s campaign.
“This attempt to smear, defame and vilify me is both cheap and clumsy. It is a convenient way to distract from [the Executive Yuan’s] poor governance,” Han wrote on Facebook in response to the report. “If the Chinese Communist Party were truly involved in the election, following the vivid script of events, how come today’s ‘person in power’ is the current leader?”
Taiwan’s democracy is determined by voters, and the idea that 20 million yuan could sway them underestimates the Taiwanese electorate and insults the nation’s democratic system, he added.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairwoman Cheng Li-wun (鄭麗文) said yesterday that Taiwan could use artificial intelligence to counter disinformation and safeguard elections.
“There is no need to exaggerate or embellish the situation. Taiwan has many capable companies able to carry out the functions described, without resorting to theatrics or manipulation,” she said.
Cheng also criticized the use of “unverifiable recordings to manipulate public opinion,” calling the tactics “malicious and crude.”
She expressed strong confidence in Taiwanese voters and the democratic process, but criticized the Democratic Progressive Party for a tendency to “embellish and escalate claims.”
Current cross-strait tensions could be eased through dialogue and by demonstrating that both sides value peace, Cheng added.
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