The Executive Yuan yesterday told Beijing to stop engaging in cognitive warfare to intervene in Taiwan’s internal affairs, as the nation prepares to vote on four referendums tomorrow.
During a news briefing on Wednesday, China’s Taiwan Affairs Office (TAO) spokesman Ma Xiaoguang (馬曉光) posed 10 questions about what democracy means to the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) government.
Ma accused the DPP of sowing discord in Taiwanese society, suppressing dissidents, manipulating disagreements between different ethnic groups, exaggerating Chinese military threats, and directly or indirectly meddling in Hong Kong’s affairs, among other allegations.
In Taipei, Executive Yuan spokesman Lo Ping-cheng (羅秉成) said that the allegations are part of China’s disinformation campaign.
Aside from posing real threats by sending military aircraft and vessels into areas around Taiwan, China has been waging a cyberwar against Taiwan, Lo told a news conference.
It is ridiculous that China, which is not democratic at all, dares to tell Taiwan what democracy means, he said.
Taiwan is a sovereign nation, he said, telling Beijing to stop interfering in its internal affairs.
As for the government’s assessment about the referendum outcome, Lo said that Cabinet members have fully explained the government’s position on the four issues and asked people to vote “no.”
The referendums, covering issues related to energy transition and international trade relations, are pertinent to Taiwan’s development, he said.
The Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) attempts to cast the referendums as a vote of confidence about the Cabinet’s performance is a false and unnecessary connection, he added.
The government will respect the results of the referendums and take proper action, per the Referendum Act (公民投票法), he said, urging voters aged 18 and above to cast their ballots on time.
Source: Taipei Times - 2021/12/17
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