China uses influencers to spread disinformation in Taiwan through social media such as TikTok and YouTube, aimed at creating suspicion and sabotaging Taiwan-US relations, but it is difficult for the government to assign an agency to regulate online activities, a government official said yesterday.
In an effort to prevent the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) from using TikTok to spread disinformation and threaten national security, the Cabinet late last year called for cross-ministerial meetings, but such meetings have not yet been held due to the Cabinet reshuffle this year, the government official said on condition of anonymity.
The Cabinet led by former premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) banned the use of short video platform Douyin, the Chinese version of TikTok, on government devices, but there has been no further discussion about other methods to combat threats since the Cabinet reshuffle in January, the official said.
Photo: Reuters
The issue involves free speech censorship and content management, so the government must be very careful, the official said, adding that the EU also began banning TikTok on government devices.
India has banned TikTok entirely, but short videos posted on TikTok can still be shared to other streaming platforms, and if the government wants to ban specific content, it must carefully consider whether it would be effective, the official said.
Taiwan is still evaluating the issue, while referencing the methods adopted by other countries, they said.
There is a government authority supervising radio and television broadcast content, but with the draft “digital intermediary service act” suspended, there is no government authority monitoring online activities, the official added.
Asked if the Ministry of Digital Affairs could become the authority to manage the issue, the official said the Information and Communication Security Management Act (資通安全管理法) and the Personal Data Protection Act (個人資料保護法) cover the operations of several ministries, so it is difficult for only one agency to regulate online activity.
China uses “united front” tactics, cognitive warfare and infiltration campaigns to divide Taiwanese society, and tries to sabotage the relationship between Taiwan and like-minded countries, the Mainland Affairs Council said.
To prevent external forces from infiltrating Taiwan, the government would continue to collect opinions about whether to amend the Anti-Infiltration Act (反滲透法) to require social media influencers to make the source of their funding public, the council said, adding that such action could help maintain national security and social stability.
‘DENIAL DEFENSE’: The US would increase its military presence with uncrewed ships, and submarines, while boosting defense in the Indo-Pacific, a Pete Hegseth memo said The US is reorienting its military strategy to focus primarily on deterring a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan, a memo signed by US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth showed. The memo also called on Taiwan to increase its defense spending. The document, known as the “Interim National Defense Strategic Guidance,” was distributed this month and detailed the national defense plans of US President Donald Trump’s administration, an article in the Washington Post said on Saturday. It outlines how the US can prepare for a potential war with China and defend itself from threats in the “near abroad,” including Greenland and the Panama
A wild live dugong was found in Taiwan for the first time in 88 years, after it was accidentally caught by a fisher’s net on Tuesday in Yilan County’s Fenniaolin (粉鳥林). This is the first sighting of the species in Taiwan since 1937, having already been considered “extinct” in the country and considered as “vulnerable” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. A fisher surnamed Chen (陳) went to Fenniaolin to collect the fish in his netting, but instead caught a 3m long, 500kg dugong. The fisher released the animal back into the wild, not realizing it was an endangered species at
The High Prosecutors’ Office yesterday withdrew an appeal against the acquittal of a former bank manager 22 years after his death, marking Taiwan’s first instance of prosecutors rendering posthumous justice to a wrongfully convicted defendant. Chu Ching-en (諸慶恩) — formerly a manager at the Taipei branch of BNP Paribas — was in 1999 accused by Weng Mao-chung (翁茂鍾), then-president of Chia Her Industrial Co, of forging a request for a fixed deposit of US$10 million by I-Hwa Industrial Co, a subsidiary of Chia Her, which was used as collateral. Chu was ruled not guilty in the first trial, but was found guilty
DEADLOCK: As the commission is unable to forum a quorum to review license renewal applications, the channel operators are not at fault and can air past their license date The National Communications Commission (NCC) yesterday said that the Public Television Service (PTS) and 36 other television and radio broadcasters could continue airing, despite the commission’s inability to meet a quorum to review their license renewal applications. The licenses of PTS and the other channels are set to expire between this month and June. The National Communications Commission Organization Act (國家通訊傳播委員會組織法) stipulates that the commission must meet the mandated quorum of four to hold a valid meeting. The seven-member commission currently has only three commissioners. “We have informed the channel operators of the progress we have made in reviewing their license renewal applications, and
RSS