A 25-minute investigative documentary aired by Qatar-based al-Jazeera TV has shed some light on how pro-unification groups operate in Taiwan, including by reportedly paying people to attend events and asking the police for the names of independence advocates.
The documentary was produced by Lynn Lee (李成琳) and seeks to draw attention to activities of pro-unification groups in Taiwan, most notably the Concentric Patriotism Association (CPA, 愛國同心會) and the China Unification Promotion Party (CUPP), whose members have grabbed headlines by attacking independence advocates and Falun Gong members staging a sit-in outside Taipei 101.
The network sent an undercover reporter posing as a Chinese visitor to Taiwan in an attempt to infiltrate the CPA.
Photo: Chen Wei-tse, Taipei Times
During the reporter’s conversations with CPA executive director Zhang Xiuye (張秀葉), a Chinese immigrant, Zhang told him that the association paid people between NT$800 and NT$900 per day to wave the national flag of the People’s Republic of China.
Zhang told the reporter that it is illegal to take money from China, but it is legal to accept money from China-based Taiwanese businesspeople, such as CPA head Zhou Qinjun (周慶峻), who she said would often receive “special care” from the Chinese government.
“Authorities in China know which businesses support unification and they will do their best to make sure you do not lose money,” Zhang told the reporter.
The CPA is very careful when recruiting people, requesting that they show their Chinese identification cards, apparently out of fear that members might disclose its activities to outsiders, the documentary said.
“I don’t trust Taiwanese. I only trust Chinese, because as Chinese we all have relatives in China,” Zhou said. “You cannot disclose what we do here to outsiders. If you do that, you might not be affected, but your relatives in China will get hurt.”
The researcher also filmed a telephone conversation between Zhou and what appeared to be a Taiwanese police officer, in which the CPA head asked the officer for a list of names of people who support independence at his precinct.
“First, I hope to get a list of independence supporters. Second, I’m sending him a warning: Don’t think about being pro-independence or I’ll come after you,” Zhou said after the telephone call.
As for the operations of the CUPP, a CPA member said that triads were using the party to “whitewash” their reputations.
“Right now, all kinds of triads are in the CUPP. Why have they joined the party? There is only one reason: to whitewash their reputations,” the member said. “They can have a sign that says they’re a CUPP branch office, but inside it is a triad branch.”
CUPP founder Chang An-le (張安樂), the former Bamboo Union (竹聯幫) gang leader known as the “White Wolf,” is facing investigations for allegedly receiving funding from China to carry out destabilizing activities in Taiwan.
When contacted yesterday, National Police Agency officials said they needed to verify the details of the al-Jazeera report and could not yet respond to the allegations.
Mainland Affairs Council Deputy Minister Chiu Chui-cheng (邱垂正) said that while Taiwan is a democratic and free nation where different political stances are respected, the council opposes the use of violence or coercive means for any political causes.
Additional reporting by Jason Pan
‘CROWN JEWEL’: Washington ‘can delay and deter’ Chinese President Xi Jinping’s plans for Taiwan, but it is ‘a very delicate situation there,’ the secretary of state said US President Donald Trump is opposed to any change to Taiwan’s “status quo” by force or extortion and would maintain that policy, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio told the Hugh Hewitt Show host on Wednesday. The US’ policy is to maintain Taiwan’s “status quo” and to oppose any changes in the situation by force or extortion, Rubio said. Hewitt asked Rubio about the significance of Trump earlier this month speaking with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (台積電) chairman C.C. Wei (魏哲家) at the White House, a meeting that Hewitt described as a “big deal.” Asked whether the meeting was an indication of the
‘RELATIVELY STRONG LANGUAGE’: An expert said the state department has not softened its language on China and was ‘probably a little more Taiwan supportive’ China’s latest drills near Taiwan on Monday were “brazen and irresponsible threats,” a US Department of State spokesperson said on Tuesday, while reiterating Washington’s decades-long support of Taipei. “China cannot credibly claim to be a ‘force for stability in a turbulent world’ while issuing brazen and irresponsible threats toward Taiwan,” the unnamed spokesperson said in an e-mailed response to media queries. Washington’s enduring commitment to Taiwan will continue as it has for 45 years and the US “will continue to support Taiwan in the face of China’s military, economic, informational and diplomatic pressure campaign,” the e-mail said. “Alongside our international partners, we firmly
KAOHSIUNG CEREMONY: The contract chipmaker is planning to build 5 fabs in the southern city to gradually expand its 2-nanometer chip capacity Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), the world’s biggest contract chipmaker, yesterday confirmed that it plans to hold a ceremony on March 31 to unveil a capacity expansion plan for its most advanced 2-nanometer chips in Kaohsiung, demonstrating its commitment to further investment at home. The ceremony is to be hosted by TSMC cochief operating officer Y.P. Chyn (秦永沛). It did not disclose whether Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) and high-ranking government officials would attend the ceremony. More details are to be released next week, it said. The chipmaker’s latest move came after its announcement earlier this month of an additional US$100 billion
COUNTERING THE PLA: While the US should reinforce its relations with partners and allies, Taiwan must invest in strengthening its defenses as well, Phillip Davidson said If influence in the Indo-Pacific region is one of the US’ core interests, then Taiwan serves as a cornerstone of US economic and security influence in the region, former US Indo-Pacific Command commander admiral Phillip Davidson said on Thursday. “China’s ... strategy is to supplant the US leadership role in the international order ... and they’ve long said ... that they intend to do that by 2050,” Davidson told the National Review Institute’s Ideas Summit in Washington. Davidson said he had previously told US Senate hearings on China’s military activities and possible threats in the Indo-Pacific region that a Chinese invasion of