Taiwan ranked ninth in a list of 36 countries most infiltrated by China, Taipei-based think tank Doublethink Lab said yesterday, citing the results of its survey.
Cambodia was the most infiltrated country by China, followed by Singapore and Thailand, while Bosnia-Herzegovina, Colombia and Paraguay filled the bottom three spots.
“People often say that Taiwan has been seriously infiltrated by China, but what aspects of the nation have been infiltrated, and how does it compare with other countries on the matter?” Doublethink Lab chairman Puma Shen (沈伯洋) wrote on Facebook. “If everyone has their own way of talking about this influence, we will not make any progress. So, we have developed standards to measure it.”
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Doublethink Lab is aiming to expand the list to 80 countries by the end of this year, and would continue to update it, he said.
The think tank looked at nine aspects of society for the study: media, art, the economy, society and culture, military affairs, law enforcement, technology, politics and foreign affairs, Shen said.
Each aspect has 11 indicators, adding up to 99 indicators per country, he added.
The indicators were further divided into three layers — engagement with China, pressure from China and their effects — he said.
The think tank’s Web site would maintain separate rankings for each of the aspects, he said.
“For example, Taiwan is ranked ninth overall, but in terms of infiltration of the media it is ranked number one,” he said.
Taiwanese society and law enforcement are also heavily influenced by China, he said, adding that law enforcement in the ranking includes a measure of “the nature and extent of China-related criminal activity.”
“For example, Chinese gangs infiltrating Taiwan, economic espionage, and cyberattacks are all assessed as indicators,” Shen said.
Cambodia is mainly influenced by China in the areas of law enforcement, and military and diplomatic affairs. Singapore is mostly influenced by China through its tech sector, followed by academic research and economy, while Thailand’s military and law enforcement are heavily influenced by Beijing.
One challenge the think tank faced when conducting the study was the need to rely on experts in various fields to assist with designing the indicators, Shen said, adding that finding researchers in each country was also challenging.
Doublethink Lab works with seven regional partners to assist with its research, he added.
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