Taiwan Tati Cultural and Educational Foundation

CCP’s information war against Lai and the Taiwanese

Antonio Graceffo

The official media of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) reacted to the May 20 inauguration speech of President William Lai (賴清德) by asserting: “Lai’s words reveal his true intention of sacrificing peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait for his own desire for power.”

This baseless accusation by Beijing that Lai is manipulating Taiwanese to resist unification with China for his personal gain, is part of a broader CCP information warfare campaign that has intensified since Lai’s election.

This campaign, orchestrated by the United Front Work Department, the CCP’s agency for coordinating influence operations and propaganda, aims to demoralize Taiwanese, undermine their government’s legitimacy and isolate Taiwan internationally.

Premier says constitutional interpretation on cards

Taipei Times

The government could seek a constitutional interpretation if lawmakers vote down its motion to reconsider legislative reform bills today, Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) said yesterday.

Cho made the comments during a session at the Legislative Yuan on the eve of today’s floor vote on the motion, which is expected to be rejected by the opposition parties’ combined majority.

The legislature is urged to give serious thought to discussing the merits of the bills and ensure their consistency with other legislation and its acceptability among Taiwanese, he said.

Lai should consider ICC membership

Taipei Times Editorial

Following President William Lai (賴清德) taking office, there has been renewed public discussion on whether it would be in Taiwan’s interests to apply for membership of the International Criminal Court (ICC).

Advocates say that this would align Taiwan more with the global community and international law, and serve as another factor to deter Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) from deciding to invade the nation.

The ICC, inaugurated in 2002, is based on the Rome Statute, adopted in 1998 by 120 countries to create an independent, international mechanism for prosecuting individuals for war crimes, crimes against humanity, genocide and aggression.

PRC uses religion to influence elections

Taipei Times

China has been seeking to influence Taiwanese elections using its ties with local Matsu (媽祖) temples, academics said yesterday as they shared the results of their research published in Foreign Policy Analysis.

Liu Yu-hsi (劉裕皙), one of the authors of “In the Name of Mazu: The Use of Religion by China to Intervene in Taiwanese Elections,” said the international community has been increasingly aware of Russian and Chinese attempts to intervene in foreign elections through religion.

At a forum hosted by the Democratic Progressive Party, the associate professor at Shih Hsin University said that the Chinese Communist Party has sought to use its agents to influence small and medium-sized enterprises, those with low to middle incomes, and residents in central and southern Taiwan.

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