A Taiwan national flag flutters near the Taipei 101 building at the National Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Memorial Hall in Taipei, Taiwan, on 7 May, 2023. AP
Ahead of elections in Taiwan, senior Chinese leaders held a meeting to “coordinate” the government’s efforts to interfere in the island nation’s poll affairs, according to intelligence gathered on the island.
According to Taiwanese intelligence officials, Beijing is nudging voters in the country toward candidates who seek closer ties with China in the January 13 presidential and legislative election.
The meeting in Beijing was held by the Chinese Communist Party’s fourth-ranked leader, Wang Huning, who is also deputy head of Beijing’s Central Leading Group for Taiwan Affairs, chaired by President Xi Jinping, according to multiple Taiwan security officials who discussed the matter with reporters.
Senior personnel from agencies including China’s Publicity Department, State Security Ministry, Defence Ministry and the Taiwan Affairs Office attended, the Taiwanese security officials said, citing intelligence gathered by Taiwan. Those officials requested anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter.
Meanwhile, US President Joe Biden has asked his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping to respect Taiwan’s elections.
The meeting was centered on “ensuring the effectiveness and coordination of various work on the Taiwan elections”, according to an internal Taiwanese memo summing up its intelligence on the Chinese meeting.
The meeting concluded with the decision that different agencies should “consolidate” their work in Taiwan. While the Publicity Department and a psychological warfare unit under the People’s Liberation Army called ‘Base 311’, is given the task of running influence campaigns to sway public opinion via news outlets and social media.
Furthermore, China’s Taiwan Affairs Office and the United Front Work Department have been given the responsibility of running outreach programmes, including offering discounted air tickets for Taiwanese living in China to fly home to vote.
Beijing has repeatedly called the DPP dangerous separatists and urged the Taiwanese to make the “right choice”. The DPP’s presidential candidate, Lai Ching-te, is leading in the polls.
Taiwan’s government is on high alert for what they see as China’s attempts to interfere in the elections by illicitly funding Beijing-friendly candidates using communications apps, group tours, or misinformation campaigns, internal security reports reviewed by Reuters show.
With inputs from Reuters
