The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) yesterday told legislators in a plenary session that it has asked temples and universities to be on alert for attempts by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) to interfere in next year’s presidential and legislative elections.
With only 88 days left until the elections, legislators asked Premier Chen Chien-jen (陳建仁) and MAC Minister Chiu Tai-san (邱太三) whether the CCP had intensified campaigns to interfere in the elections.
Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Lai Jui-lung (賴瑞隆) said that some borough wardens and heads of temples in Taiwan were invited to visit China and encouraged to bring people with them.
Photo: CNA
He said that he had received information that some university professors were organizing low-priced tours to China for students.
Lai urged the government to quickly respond to disinformation disseminated by the CCP, adding that it should consider responding to false information with videos instead of placards.
“We, as a democratic and free society, cannot afford to let the CCP regime interfere in our elections using disinformation. A false statement can become the truth when it is said multiple times, as people are utterly confused,” he said.
Beijing has tried to influence the outcomes of Taiwanese elections using numerous tactics, from organizing cultural and trade events to hosting Taiwanese politicians, Chiu said.
“The CCP’s Central Leading Group for Taiwan Affairs has since May tried to cover up manipulation tactics in the name of ‘expanded cross-strait exchange.’ However, they cannot accomplish much with these strategies because of restrictions on cross-strait exchanges imposed from both sides. As such, they have moved venues for ‘united front’ work from Taiwan to China,” he said.
“We have recently communicated the seriousness of this issue with the management of several important temples in Taiwan. The Ministry of Education has also reminded professors and students of the legal risks of traveling to China, and they are required to apply in advance and secure permission,” he said.
The Executive Yuan has formed a special task force to tackle disinformation and misinformation, which requires agencies to respond to reports of disinformation within a day under the principle of “speed, accuracy and precision,” Chen said.
A decision to describe a Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs statement on Singapore’s Taiwan policy as “erroneous” was made because the city-state has its own “one China policy” and has not followed Beijing’s “one China principle,” Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Tien Chung-kwang (田中光) said yesterday. It has been a longstanding practice for the People’s Republic of China (PRC) to speak on other countries’ behalf concerning Taiwan, Tien said. The latest example was a statement issued by the PRC after a meeting between Singaporean Prime Minister Lawrence Wong (黃循財) and Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) on the sidelines of the APEC summit
Taiwan’s passport ranked 34th in the world, with access to 141 visa-free destinations, according to the latest update to the Henley Passport Index released today. The index put together by Henley & Partners ranks 199 passports globally based on the number of destinations holders can access without a visa out of 227, and is updated monthly. The 141 visa-free destinations for Taiwanese passport holders are a slight decrease from last year, when holders had access to 145 destinations. Botswana and Columbia are among the countries that have recently ended visa-free status for Taiwanese after “bowing to pressure from the Chinese government,” the Ministry
HEALTHCARE: Following a 2022 Constitutional Court ruling, Taiwanese traveling overseas for six months would no longer be able to suspend their insurance Measures allowing people to suspend National Health Insurance (NHI) services if they plan to leave the country for six months would be abolished starting Dec. 23, NHIA Director-General Shih Chung-liang (石崇良) said yesterday. The decision followed the Constitutional Court’s ruling in 2022 that the regulation was unconstitutional and that it would invalidate the regulation automatically unless the NHIA amended it to conform with the Constitution. The agency would amend the regulations to remove the articles and sections that allow the suspension of NHI services, and also introduce provisional clauses for those who suspended their NHI services before Dec. 23, Shih said. According to
‘GRAY ZONE’ TACTICS: China continues to build up its military capacity while regularly deploying jets and warships around Taiwan, with the latest balloon spotted on Sunday The US is drawing up contingency plans for military deployments in Japan and the Philippines in case of a Taiwan emergency, Japan’s Kyodo news agency reported. They would be incorporated in a first joint operation plan to be formulated in December, Kyodo reported late on Sunday, citing sources familiar with Japan-US relations. A US Marine Corps regiment that possesses High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems — a light multiple rocket launcher — would be deployed along the Nansei Island chain stretching from Kyushu to Yonaguni near Taiwan, Kyodo said. According to US military guidelines for dispatching marines in small formations to several locations,
RSS