Taiwan has been targeted by a wave of online disinformation claiming the nation’s gas supplies would soon be completely depleted due to disruptions from the Middle East war — a narrative officials say could cause panic and undermine confidence in the government.
The false social media posts, which have amassed thousands of views on Chinese-language platforms, include a persistent claim that Taiwan will run out of liquefied natural gas (LNG) within 11 days and face electricity blackouts due to Iran’s restrictions on tankers passing through the Strait of Hormuz.
AFP fact-checkers found around two dozen Douyin posts from China-based accounts pushing the narrative, many of them rehashing the same video script.
Photo: AFP
Some also criticized Taiwan’s decision to shut down its nuclear reactor last year, while others promoted Beijing’s offer for “peaceful reunification” as a path to energy security.
Taiwanese authorities have refuted the rumors, saying there are sufficient LNG reserves for this month and next.
“They claimed that we would run out of gas — that is simply impossible,” Minister of Economic Affairs Kung Ming-hsin (龔明鑫) said in a Facebook video published on March 9.
“LNG supplies from Qatar account for about one-third of our total supply. Therefore, about 60 to 70 percent is basically not a problem,” he added.
Security officials told reporters last week they were monitoring fuel-related disinformation spread by Taiwanese “collaborators," in addition to Chinese media.
They found AI-generated content on YouTube and TikTok pushing “a consistent narrative” that Taiwan could be in a “very dire situation” and asking what would happen “if Taiwan is encircled.”
“It works by creating scenarios to make people in Taiwan ... feel concerned about the government, or keep imagining that if a blockade were to happen one day, we would lose confidence in energy,” the security officials said.
FALSE IMPRESSION
Taiwan is the latest target of disinformation about an impending energy crisis due to the US-Israeli strikes against Iran.
Iran’s Tasnim news agency published earlier this month an altered graphic falsely claiming Australia had just 18 days of petrol supplies left.
AFP fact-checkers found the actual figure was twice that.
Such claims are particularly sensitive in Taiwan, where China’s growing military activity and the risk of a potential blockade around the nation have ignited fears about energy security.
LNG accounted for 47.8 percent of Taiwan’s power generation last year, according to the Energy Administration.
Yeh Tsung-kuang (葉宗洸), a professor in the Department of Engineering and System Science at National Tsing Hua University, said Taiwan’s maximum LNG inventory is only 11 days, but that does not mean the nation would run out of fuel or face outages within that time period.
“One-third of our LNG comes from Qatar. We also have other sources such as Russia, Australia and the US,” he said.
“These netizens are interpreting the situation as if LNG from the Middle East cannot get through, Taiwan will be left without a natural gas supply. They are attempting to create this false impression,” he added.
The Ministry of Economic Affairs previously said on Facebook that while 22 LNG vessels would pass through the now-blocked Strait of Hormuz this month and next, supply would remain unaffected, as the entire shortfall could be covered with “emergency procurement or expedited delivery.”
If the blockade continues, there are three contingency plans: utilizing non-Middle Eastern gas sources, discussing mutual assistance with similar buyers such as Japan and South Korea and purchasing “existing fuel,” it added.
LARGER CAMPAIGN
Beijing’s Taiwan Affairs Office said last week that “peaceful reunification could provide better protection” for Taiwan’s energy security with a “strong motherland” as its backing.
However, Deputy Minister of Economic Affairs Ho Chin-tsang (何晉滄) refuted that notion, saying at the legislature that it was “impossible” and part of “cognitive warfare.”
Joseph Webster, a senior fellow at the Atlantic Council’s Global Energy Center, said Beijing’s offer could be “a political drive” to undermine Taiwan’s faith in its own energy security.
“So this disinformation is either explicitly or implicitly a part of that larger campaign,” he said.
Liang Chi-yuan (梁啟源), a professor and research fellow at National Central University’s Center for Taiwan Economic Development, said such narratives might gain traction because Taiwan has relatively low LNG capacity compared to other Asian countries.
Both experts acknowledged that Taiwan would face stronger competition and higher prices if the Middle East war drags on and long-term global LNG supplies are affected.
“This is a significant vulnerability in terms of Taiwan’s energy weakness,” Liang said.
NATIONAL SECURITY: Authorities are working to confirm the identities of the military personnel involved and investigating possible illegal conduct and regulatory violations Authorities are probing possible national security implications after Kinmen police and immigration officers on Sunday found a Chinese woman allegedly posing as a tourist while engaging in prostitution involving more than 10 military personnel. The woman, surnamed Chen (陳), has since been deported, authorities said, adding that investigators are still working to confirm the identities of those implicated, as the records only listed code names and aliases. The case stemmed from a report received by the Kinmen District Prosecutors’ Office on Friday last week from the Jinhu Precinct of the Kinmen County Police Bureau. On Sunday, police, along with the National Immigration
REASONS FOR TRAVEL: An assistant professor said that proposed amendments to penalize drivers if they used drugs overseas would not deter people from traveling People who operate a motor vehicle under the influence of marijuana would have their driver’s license revoked, even if they used the substance while overseas, the Ministry of Transportation and Communications said yesterday, citing proposed amendments to the Road Traffic Management and Penalty Act (道路交通管理處罰條例). The amendments would also authorize the government to revoke the licenses of people determined to have used Category 1 or Category 2 narcotics, even if they were not operating a vehicle while under the influence of drugs, as well as ban them from taking the license test for three years, the ministry said. People aged 18 or
GLOBALGIVING: ‘ Caving to external pressure is not acceptable for an organization that has cultivated justice reform and human rights for 30 years,’ one NGO said A slew of non-government organizations (NGOs) have withdrawn from the GlobalGiving fundraising platform after it announced it would use “Chinese Taipei” instead of “Taiwan” from next month. The Taiwan Good Rice Association wrote on Facebook on Friday that it was informed on April 28 via a teleconference call of the change, which was made because the platform wanted to operate in China. Taiwan Good Rice is to terminate all cooperative relationships with GlobalGiving in response to the platform’s “unilateral and non-negotiable” decision to remove references to Taiwan, the NGO said. “Taiwan is in the official name of Taiwan Good Rice Association and the
HEAVY WEATHER: Typhoon Jangmi is due to crash straight into the Ryukyus as airlines look to shift flights to larger aircraft or cancel flights to Okinawa entirely Taiwan’s international air carriers announced flight adjustments over the weekend as Typhoon Jangmi is forecast to hit the Ryukyu Islands today and tomorrow. The Central Weather Administration (CWA) upgraded Jangmi from a tropical storm to a typhoon at 8am yesterday, with the eye located 580km south of Naha city. It was moving north at 19kph. Today, China Airlines’ CI-120, CI-121, CI-122 and CI-123 flights between Taoyuan and Naha, Okinawa, have been canceled as well as CI-132 and CI-133 between Kaohsiung and Naha. EVA Air’s BR-112, BR-113, BR-186 and BR-185 flights between Taoyuan and Naha are also canceled. Low-cost carrier Tigerair Taiwan canceled IT-230,
RSS