A local broadcaster is being investigated for reportedly allowing a correspondent from China’s Xinhua news agency to give it instructions about its programming, the National Communications Commission said on Tuesday.
In exchange for commercial interests in China, the broadcaster allowed Xinhua reporter Zhao Bo (趙博) to set program topics, script dialogue and supervise filming, a source told the Liberty Times (the Taipei Times’ sister paper), adding that other broadcasters were offered the same deal, but rejected it.
Obviously, it comes as no surprise that China is attempting to infiltrate the media in Taiwan. It is good that other broadcasters had the integrity to reject this offer, but the channel that allegedly accepted it must be made an example of. Under articles 22 and 27 of the Satellite Broadcasting Act (衛星廣播電視法), the channel could face a fine of NT$400,000 to NT$2 million (US$12,327 to US$61,633), and may be ordered to suspend broadcasting or have their license revoked.
A fine is unlikely to be a deterrent to would-be offenders if business opportunities in China or bribes from the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) would exceed the maximum fine — which is very likely, so license revocation should be a must for any broadcaster found collaborating with the CCP. At the same time, anyone at the broadcaster involved in the offense should have their finances scrutinized, and be prohibited from ever owning, operating, investing in or working for any media outlet in Taiwan again.
China is well aware that it lacks the capability to invade Taiwan at present. It is also highly unlikely to impose a military blockade around Taiwan, which could lead to US military involvement.
Even a quarantine is unlikely according to experts who recently commented on the matter. Carl Schuster, former director of operations at the US Pacific Command’s Joint Intelligence Center, told CNN that a quarantine would be too costly and risky for China.
Given its limited options to force unification on Taiwan, China is likely to continue pressuring Taiwan through a combination of “gray zone” tactics, manipulation of Taiwan’s legislature and “united front” efforts such as cognitive warfare waged on social media by infiltrating schools and organizations in Taiwan. Taiwan must swiftly and resolutely respond to any sign of these efforts and must not allow Taiwanese collaborators to act with impunity.
It is odd that correspondents from Chinese state-run media would be permitted to operate in Taiwan, given that the Taiwanese government is well aware of the CCP’s cognitive warfare efforts against it.
In the same vein, several legislators from the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) reportedly are known to have contact with CCP officials, and it has been alleged that some legislators act under instructions from the CCP. Given such suspicions, it makes little sense that active legislators in Taiwan should be permitted to travel to China.
The threats directed against Taiwan and its people continue to worsen under the administration of Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平), with the CCP most recently threatening those in favor of Taiwan’s independence with the death penalty.
It is time that Taiwan’s government begins placing restrictions on exchanges with China. Failure to do so puts Taiwanese at risk of losing their freedoms and way of life.
The return of US president-elect Donald Trump to the White House has injected a new wave of anxiety across the Taiwan Strait. For Taiwan, an island whose very survival depends on the delicate and strategic support from the US, Trump’s election victory raises a cascade of questions and fears about what lies ahead. His approach to international relations — grounded in transactional and unpredictable policies — poses unique risks to Taiwan’s stability, economic prosperity and geopolitical standing. Trump’s first term left a complicated legacy in the region. On the one hand, his administration ramped up arms sales to Taiwan and sanctioned
The Taiwanese have proven to be resilient in the face of disasters and they have resisted continuing attempts to subordinate Taiwan to the People’s Republic of China (PRC). Nonetheless, the Taiwanese can and should do more to become even more resilient and to be better prepared for resistance should the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) try to annex Taiwan. President William Lai (賴清德) argues that the Taiwanese should determine their own fate. This position continues the Democratic Progressive Party’s (DPP) tradition of opposing the CCP’s annexation of Taiwan. Lai challenges the CCP’s narrative by stating that Taiwan is not subordinate to the
US president-elect Donald Trump is to return to the White House in January, but his second term would surely be different from the first. His Cabinet would not include former US secretary of state Mike Pompeo and former US national security adviser John Bolton, both outspoken supporters of Taiwan. Trump is expected to implement a transactionalist approach to Taiwan, including measures such as demanding that Taiwan pay a high “protection fee” or requiring that Taiwan’s military spending amount to at least 10 percent of its GDP. However, if the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) invades Taiwan, it is doubtful that Trump would dispatch
World leaders are preparing themselves for a second Donald Trump presidency. Some leaders know more or less where he stands: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy knows that a difficult negotiation process is about to be forced on his country, and the leaders of NATO countries would be well aware of being complacent about US military support with Trump in power. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu would likely be feeling relief as the constraints placed on him by the US President Joe Biden administration would finally be released. However, for President William Lai (賴清德) the calculation is not simple. Trump has surrounded himself
RSS