TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Chinese interference in Taiwan’s election campaign moved from sowing doubts about United States intentions to portraying the election as a choice between war and peace, reports said Thursday (Nov. 2).
Government officials in Taiwan have accused China of using “fake news” and spreading rumors to influence the outcomes of the Jan. 13, 2024 presidential and legislative elections. On Wednesday (Nov. 1), National Security Bureau (NSB) chief Tsai Ming-yen (蔡明彥) said Beijing was waging a “smokeless war” against Taiwan.
With less than 70 days until the elections, China has changed part of its strategy, per CNA. National security officials said that throwing doubt on the willingness of the U.S. to help Taiwan has gradually been replaced by a new topic from late September.
Now, Chinese officials and media are emphasizing that cross-strait relations face a choice between peace and war, and between prosperity and economic decline. Taiwan’s independence goes against the will of the people on both sides of the Taiwan Strait and is going to push Taiwan towards the threat of war, Chinese officials said on Oct. 31.
Taiwan security officials said that Beijing is also using military incursions into Taiwan’s air defense identification zone (ADIZ) and naval drills in the Pacific Ocean to underline the threat of war. China also intensifies military activities ahead of meetings with the U.S., using the drills as a bargaining chip to obtain concessions, they added.
