From Tibet to Taiwan
The Chinese government recently set up an “international broadcasting center” in Tibet, with the stated goal of “promoting good stories about Tibet.” This is part of a long-term push by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) to disseminate a certain image of CCP-controlled Tibet in the international community. It attempts to dilute international attention toward Tibetans and issues of human rights under the CCP. These and other propaganda mechanisms show that the CCP is able to export an official narrative about Tibetans to the outside world that suppresses any differing and dissenting views.
Recently, the CCP said it would initiate propaganda to “speak well about the unification narrative” regarding Taiwan. On one hand, China would ramp up military threats and diplomatic pressure on Taiwan. On the other hand, it would push its narrative of “peaceful unification” internally and externally through propaganda mechanisms in an attempt to mislead the international community. The goal behind this narrative is to threaten and substantially erode Taiwan’s sovereignty.
From Tibet to Taiwan and beyond, the CCP utilizes the same methods to make incursions abroad, revealing the CCP’s expanding ambitions. These actions are by no means isolated affairs, but part of the CCP’s goal of world hegemony. Regardless of whether these actions are aimed at the internal suppression of minorities or pushing the false narrative of “peaceful unification,” the CCP’s goal is the same: To expand China’s influence and attempt to alter the world order of peace and stability.
Countries need to be vigilant in resisting these false narratives and remaining resolute in their sovereignty and national interests. The CCP’s propaganda and foreign policy strategies aim to chip away at these lines of defense for nations everywhere, by drawing everyone in as pawns in the CCP’s games. The international community must bolster cooperation to avoid being turned into powerless game pieces. It must jointly resist CCP infiltration and incursion, and safeguard freedom and democracy.
To reiterate, the CCP’s methods in Tibet and against Taiwan are one and the same. The propaganda is being implemented under the guise of “speaking positively about China and the CCP.” The party is expanding its ambitions by propaganda and diplomatic pressure. Its Tibet narrative attempts to dilute international attention toward its human rights violations, while in Taiwan the party is trying to slice away at Taiwan’s sovereignty by misleading and controlling the international conversation through a false narrative of “peaceful unification.”
The CCP is constantly implementing invasive means to expand its global influence. The international community must remain vigilant about China’s plans, strengthen mutual exchange and cooperation against the CCP, and safeguard national sovereignty and the values of democracy and freedom. This is the only way to prevent China from dominating everyone and wrecking the world order.
Chang Ya-jou
Taipei
Concerns that the US might abandon Taiwan are often overstated. While US President Donald Trump’s handling of Ukraine raised unease in Taiwan, it is crucial to recognize that Taiwan is not Ukraine. Under Trump, the US views Ukraine largely as a European problem, whereas the Indo-Pacific region remains its primary geopolitical focus. Taipei holds immense strategic value for Washington and is unlikely to be treated as a bargaining chip in US-China relations. Trump’s vision of “making America great again” would be directly undermined by any move to abandon Taiwan. Despite the rhetoric of “America First,” the Trump administration understands the necessity of
In an article published on this page on Tuesday, Kaohsiung-based journalist Julien Oeuillet wrote that “legions of people worldwide would care if a disaster occurred in South Korea or Japan, but the same people would not bat an eyelid if Taiwan disappeared.” That is quite a statement. We are constantly reading about the importance of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC), hailed in Taiwan as the nation’s “silicon shield” protecting it from hostile foreign forces such as the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), and so crucial to the global supply chain for semiconductors that its loss would cost the global economy US$1
US President Donald Trump’s challenge to domestic American economic-political priorities, and abroad to the global balance of power, are not a threat to the security of Taiwan. Trump’s success can go far to contain the real threat — the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) surge to hegemony — while offering expanded defensive opportunities for Taiwan. In a stunning affirmation of the CCP policy of “forceful reunification,” an obscene euphemism for the invasion of Taiwan and the destruction of its democracy, on March 13, 2024, the People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) used Chinese social media platforms to show the first-time linkage of three new
Sasha B. Chhabra’s column (“Michelle Yeoh should no longer be welcome,” March 26, page 8) lamented an Instagram post by renowned actress Michelle Yeoh (楊紫瓊) about her recent visit to “Taipei, China.” It is Chhabra’s opinion that, in response to parroting Beijing’s propaganda about the status of Taiwan, Yeoh should be banned from entering this nation and her films cut off from funding by government-backed agencies, as well as disqualified from competing in the Golden Horse Awards. She and other celebrities, he wrote, must be made to understand “that there are consequences for their actions if they become political pawns of