Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Wang Ting-yu (王定宇) and National Security Council Deputy Secretary-General Lin Fei-fan (林飛帆) yesterday said they have come under personal attack on social media, a day after China’s Taiwan Affairs Office (TAO) added a new section titled “diehard Taiwanese independence separatists” to its Web site.
Lin said he has filed a complaint to police, requesting that they investigate defamation and other accusations against him that began circulating on social media on Thursday.
One post claimed that “Lin got arrested after procuring sex from a prostitute ... and then was released quickly, as the government wanted to suppress this news,” Lin said.
Photo: Taipei Times
Another post alleged that “Lin is receiving a high salary, higher than for a Cabinet minister,” Lin said, adding that these are all baseless accusations and asking people not to further disseminate these personal attacks against him.
Lin said the accusations are “absurd” and are personal attacks targeting him.
Separately, Wang said he had received messages threatening to kill him and his family.
Lin and Wang are among the 10 “diehard Taiwanese independence separatists” listed on the TAO Web site.
The list also includes Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) and Minister of National Defense Wellington Koo (顧立雄).
DPP Legislator Hung Sun-han (洪申翰) yesterday said that “it is quite clearly a systematic smear campaign by China targeting Lin and Wang, right after the TAO published the list.”
“We ask the public and all media outlets to stop circulating this disinformation,” Hung said.
DPP spokeswoman Tai Wei-shan (戴瑋姍) said that the coordinated attack against Lin and Wang is part of China’s cognitive warfare, while some Taiwanese and media were collaborating by disseminating fake news on social media and generating online discussion.
Tai asked the judiciary to fully investigate the case.
Wang is to file a complaint for a judicial investigation, but said that people should not be frightened by intimidation from China.
“Society must take a common stance, that when facing a belligerent China aiming for a hostile military takeover, that we must have no fear fighting against it,” Wang said.
“If we cower in fear, then China would step up its scare tactics, using stronger ways to intimidate us. Taiwanese must unite to counter China’s intimidation, working together to safeguard our freedom and democratic values, and to protect our national interests,” he said.
‘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 magnitude 4.9 earthquake struck off Tainan at 11:47am today, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The hypocenter was 32.3km northeast of Tainan City Hall at a depth of 7.3km, CWA data showed. The intensity of the quake, which gauges the actual effect of a seismic event, measured 4 in Tainan and Chiayi County on Taiwan's seven-tier intensity scale, the data showed. The quake had an intensity of 3 in Chiayi City and County, and Yunlin County, while it was measured as 2 in Kaohsiung, Nantou County, Changhua County, Taitung County and offshore Penghu County, the data showed. There were no immediate reports of
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) is maintaining close ties with Beijing, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) said yesterday, hours after a new round of Chinese military drills in the Taiwan Strait began. Political parties in a democracy have a responsibility to be loyal to the nation and defend its sovereignty, DPP spokesman Justin Wu (吳崢) told a news conference in Taipei. His comments came hours after Beijing announced via Chinese state media that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s Eastern Theater Command was holding large-scale drills simulating a multi-pronged attack on Taiwan. Contrary to the KMT’s claims that it is staunchly anti-communist, KMT Deputy
RESPONSE: The government would investigate incidents of Taiwanese entertainers in China promoting CCP propaganda online in contravention of the law, the source said Taiwanese entertainers living in China who are found to have contravened cross-strait regulations or collaborated with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) could be subject to fines, a source said on Sunday. Several Taiwanese entertainers have posted on the social media platform Sina Weibo saying that Taiwan “must be returned” to China, and sharing news articles from Chinese state media. In response, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) has asked the Ministry of Culture to investigate whether the entertainers had contravened any laws, and asked for them to be questioned upon their return to Taiwan, an official familiar with the matter said. To curb repeated