China is leveraging its influence “in hundreds of ways,” including by falsifying poll results, pressuring the business community and enlisting online influencers, to help China-friendly candidates and parties win in next year’s presidential and legislative elections, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) members told a news conference in Taipei yesterday.
DPP spokesman Chang Chih-hao (張志豪) said that Beijing’s political influence was also behind an effort by the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) to form a “blue-white alliance” for January’s elections.
“Blue-white cooperation is what Beijing wants, as it perceives an alliance as the best chance for China-friendly candidates to take political power in Taiwan,” Chang said.
Photo: Chen Yun, Taipei Times
Chang presented a series of placards featuring cases of alleged Chinese-influence that he said showed that Beijing was “leveraging its influence in hundreds of ways” in a multifront campaign to subvert the elections.
Taiwanese businesspeople in China are a major part of those efforts, he said.
He pointed to Chinese authorities’ tax probe of Hon Hai Precision Industry Co — whose founder, Terry Gou (郭台銘), is running as an independent in the presidential election.
He said that Beijing often seeks to intimidate Taiwanese businesspeople in China to support China-friendly candidates, by imposing heavy fines on their businesses or charging them with crimes and detaining them.
The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is also trying to funnel money into Taiwan to influence the election, Chang said, adding that funds can be passed as political donations from Taiwanese companies with operations in China, arrive through underground remittance services or channeled through cryptocurrencies.
Donations to charities and local temples could also be passed along to candidates or parties, he said.
The CCP is also ramping up its influence campaigns online, he said.
China pays public relations firms and online personalities to produce videos and promotions as part of a “coordinated media campaign,” which is bolstered by Chinese who interact with the content to raise viewership for selected social media influencers, he said.
Chang pointed to a case in which five Taiwanese businesspeople working in China were found guilty of taking money from officials in Changsha, China, to buy votes for Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) candidate Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜) in the 2020 presidential election.
That vote-buying scheme involved inviting Taiwanese businesspeople to attend banquets and other functions to convince them to support Han, including offering to pay their airfare to return to Taiwan to vote.
Other tactics include targeting businesspeople, students, youth groups, farmer associations and temple administrators to attend conferences or go on all-expenses-paid trips to China to influence voters, Chang said.
“China has prioritized targeting Taiwanese companies, among the hundreds of ways it seeks to meddle in our elections, hoping to force them to comply on political issues,” former DPP New Taipei councilor Ho Po-wen (何博文) said.
Many Taiwanese businesspeople in China are required to sign up for the Association of Taiwan Investment Enterprises on the Mainland China, and similar local business organizations run by local Chinese officials.
Temperatures in northern Taiwan are forecast to reach as high as 30°C today, as an ongoing northeasterly seasonal wind system weakens, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. CWA forecaster Tseng Chao-cheng (曾昭誠) said yesterday that with the seasonal wind system weakening, warmer easterly winds would boost the temperature today. Daytime temperatures in northern Taiwan and Yilan County are expected to range from 28°C to 30°C today, up about 3°C from yesterday, Tseng said. According to the CWA, temperature highs in central and southern Taiwan could stay stable. However, the weather is expected to turn cooler starting tonight as the northeasterly wind system strengthens again
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday expressed “grave concerns” after Singaporean Prime Minister Lawrence Wong (黃循財) reiterated the city-state’s opposition to “Taiwanese independence” during a meeting with Chinese Premier Li Qiang (李強). In Singapore on Saturday, Wong and Li discussed cross-strait developments, the Singaporean Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement. “Prime Minister Wong reiterated that Singapore has a clear and consistent ‘one China’ policy and is opposed to Taiwan independence,” it said. MOFA responded that it is an objective fact and a common understanding shared by many that the Republic of China (ROC) is an independent, sovereign nation, with world-leading
COOLING OFF: Temperatures are expected to fall to lows of about 20°C on Sunday and possibly 18°C to 19°C next week, following a wave of northeasterly winds on Friday The Central Weather Administration (CWA) on Sunday forecast more rain and cooler temperatures for northern Taiwan this week, with the mercury dropping to lows of 18°C, as another wave of northeasterly winds sweeps across the country. The current northeasterly winds would continue to affect Taiwan through today, with precipitation peaking today, bringing increased rainfall to windward areas, CWA forecaster Liu Pei-teng (劉沛滕) said. The weather system would weaken slightly tomorrow before another, stronger wave arrives on Friday, lasting into next week, Liu said. From yesterday to today, northern Taiwan can expect cool, wet weather, with lows of 22°C to 23°C in most areas,
Taiwan sweltered through its hottest October on record, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday, the latest in a string of global temperature records. The main island endured its highest average temperature since 1950, CWA forecaster Liu Pei-teng said. Temperatures the world over have soared in recent years as human-induced climate change contributes to ever more erratic weather patterns. Taiwan’s average temperature was 27.381°C as of Thursday, Liu said. Liu said the average could slip 0.1°C by the end of yesterday, but it would still be higher than the previous record of 27.009°C in 2016. "The temperature only started lowering around Oct. 18 or 19
RSS