US magazine The Diplomat in December published an article analyzing last month’s presidential election in Taiwan.
The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) used cognitive warfare methods against Taiwan to interfere in the elections by influencing voters’ perceptions. Furthermore, the CCP aimed to make Taiwanese unconsciously accept the ideas that it was trying to instill. The CCP used Taiwanese businesspeople operating in China to profusely express their views about elections or the future of Taiwan’s economy. The CCP wanted these key people, who are quite influential in Taiwan, to guide their employees or followers, thus using infiltration to indirectly influence the integrity of Taiwan’s democracy.
China’s most common methods are as follows:
The first is psychological warfare. Modern wars do not just involve fighting with conventional weapons, but also use hybrid warfare to stealthily cause anxiety among an adversary’s population — in this case Taiwanese. For example, in relation to the war between Ukraine and Russia, the CCP has used Taiwanese media to spread the notion of “today Ukraine, tomorrow Taiwan,” thus spreading fear and shaking the confidence of Taiwanese. The CCP tries to sow the seeds of division between the public and the government to weaken people’s trust in the authorities.
The second method is to attack Taiwan’s economic lifeline, such as by canceling permits for Chinese tourists to visit Taiwan, imposing sanctions on Taiwanese companies and making it difficult for Taiwan’s agricultural and fishery products to be sold in China. For instance, the CCP has spread stories about egg shortages to induce Taiwanese people to think that politics affects the public’s livelihood and to pressure Taiwan’s government to make concessions to China.
The third method is suppressing Taiwan’s international status by isolating it diplomatically. Since 2019, Kiribati, the Solomon Islands, Nicaragua, Honduras and Nauru have cut diplomatic relations with Taiwan and established ties with China, thereby weakening Taiwan’s international influence. This isolation hinders Taiwan’s participation in international negotiations, agreements, global forums, strategic partnerships and cooperation. The CCP demands that all countries abide by the “one China” principle and it seeks to create a pretext for invading Taiwan by force.
The CCP’s cognitive warfare strategy is more complex and diverse than one can imagine. It first breaks down the psychological defenses of Taiwanese to make them anxious. It proceeds to quietly sow divisions among Taiwanese and uses economic pressure to create difficulties for Taiwanese businesspeople in China and sectors such as agriculture and fisheries. This encourages people to resent the government, thus shattering the public’s trust in it and misleading people into thinking that the government does not care about their needs. Eventually, it might destabilize people’s ideas about unifying the two sides of the Taiwan Strait.
In addition, the CCP cultivates China’s image as a major power to suppress Taiwan’s international status. It uses diplomatic carrots and sticks to put pressure on other countries and increase China’s influence.
Consequently, people in Taiwan must learn to recognize all these aspects of the CCP’s cognitive warfare methods and strengthen their media literacy. People must realize that war is not just a matter of the battlefield. Taiwanese must also be vigilant about ideological attempts to implant pro-unification ideas in their minds.
Chen Ching is a researcher on cross-strait relations and a commentator on international relations and current affairs.
Translated by Julian Clegg
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