Taiwan sees increased electoral influence from China
Around two months before the elections in Taiwan, the island state's National Security Council is seeing increasing efforts by China to influence the outcome in its favor. Beijing is conducting a disinformation campaign, threatening the military and putting Taiwan's economy under pressure, the authority in Taipei announced.
The leadership of the People's Republic wants to prevent Vice President William Lai of the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) from winning the election, said Wellington Koo, Secretary General of the Security Council, which is responsible for intelligence work. China regards the democratic island republic as part of its territory and has repeatedly and openly threatened to seize power by force.
Taiwan will elect a new head of state and parliament on January 13, 2024. The party of Lai and incumbent Tsai Ing-wen, who is not running again after two terms in office, is leading by a clear margin in the polls. It is followed by the Taiwan People's Party (TPP) and the Chinese nationalist Kuomintang (KMT), which wants to hold talks with China again and is therefore likely to be the preferred election winner from Beijing's perspective. So far, however, the KMT and the TPP have been unable to agree on forming an alliance to pose a threat to the DPP.
Beijing sets its sights on Taiwanese entrepreneurs
China and Taiwan are separated by a strait. The Communist Party in Beijing sees the island state as part of China, which historically dates back to the Chinese civil war in the first half of the 20th century. Taiwan has had an independent government for decades. China threatens to invade and repeatedly demonstrates its power with large-scale military exercises.
According to the government official Koo, Beijing wants to dissuade the founder of the major Taiwanese company Foxconn from running in the presidential election by putting pressure on his company. This is to prevent the billionaire Terry Gou, who is far behind in the polls and whose company is one of the largest private employers in China, from taking votes away from other opposition candidates. On October 22, the Chinese authorities announced that Apple supplier Foxconn was to be subject to a tax audit. The final list of candidates will be announced on November 24.
Disinformation on social media
According to Koo, China is also deliberately spreading false information about living conditions in Taiwan on social media such as Tiktok. This was intended to turn Taiwanese voters against the ruling DPP. Instead of blocking the platforms, the Taiwanese authorities are trying to correct the false claims, said Koo. "We trust in the democratic resilience and media literacy of Taiwanese citizens."
In light of the upcoming elections in Taiwan, the Chinese government is reportedly attempting to exert influence on the outcome, potentially through strategies targeting key figures like Taiwanese entrepreneur Terry Gou. (Government, Elections)
China's attempts to meddle in Taiwanese elections extend beyond direct threats and military maneuvers, with disinformation campaigns on social media platforms also being employed to sway public opinion. (Elections, Disinformation)
Source: www.dpa.com
