TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) would not be the CCP if it did not interfere with Taiwan’s elections, Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) Minister Chiu Tai-san (邱太三) said Thursday (Nov. 30).
He was speaking to reporters in the margin of an international conference in Taipei about the “Chinese Path to Modernization under One-Party Rule,” Radio Taiwan International (RTI) reported. Chiu said recent comments by Chinese officials showed they did not understand the meaning of democracy and free elections.
The global community and United States President Joe Biden might have called on Beijing not to influence Taiwan’s elections, but the CCP would not be the CCP if it did not meddle, according to Chiu. Facing Chinese interference, the government would pay close attention, while the judiciary had also taken certain measures, he said.
Prosecutors are investigating invitations by local party units in China extended to local figures and elected officials in Taiwan for links to the Jan. 13, 2024 elections.
He also mentioned plans by worshippers of the goddess Mazu in Meizhou, China to visit Taiwan. Of the 239 expected pilgrims, 218 were not religious figures, per the Liberty Times. According to government officials, they had refused to submit the necessary additional information for their trip to Taiwan to receive approval.