Taiwan Tati Cultural and Educational Foundation

Look to India on Chinese infiltration

Paul Lin 林保華

On Oct. 3, police in New Delhi raided and searched the residences of several staff members of the NewsClick online news site and detained several of them for interrogation. According to an investigative report published in the New York Times in August under the headline “A global web of Chinese propaganda leads to a US tech mogul,” NewsClick’s main funder is a 69-year-old US citizen named Neville Roy Singham, who established the Chicago-based software and information technology consultancy Thoughtworks and currently lives in Shanghai.

NewsClick, founded in 2009, defines itself as an independent news medium focusing on “social justice” that speaks out for “oppressed communities.” However, the New York Times report says NewsClick’s reports are full of Chinese government talking points such as that “China’s history continues to inspire the working classes.” Many organizations, from the Massachusetts-based think tank Tricontinental and a South African political party to a Brazilian news organization, have traces of Singham’s funding with the aim of spreading China’s “grand external propaganda.” According to the report, Singham-funded media have used funding from the Propaganda Department of the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) Shanghai Municipal Committee to publish videos on YouTube and “spread China’s voice to the world.”

Unity makes strength

Taipei Times Editorial

Policymakers and experts in Japan back increased US support for Taiwan, while those in South Korea and the Philippines want that support to remain as it is now, US and Japanese researchers found.

The report, which was completed in February and published online last month, was conducted by US-based think tank RAND Corp and Japan’s Sasakawa Peace Foundation.

The report’s findings on Japan’s stance are not surprising as Japanese officials on several occasions over the past few years have said that a conflict in the Taiwan Strait would impact Japan. Former Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe in 2021 called for the US to make it clear that it would defend Taiwan in such a conflict, and then-Japanese deputy prime minister Taro Aso said in the same year that Tokyo and Washington would defend Taiwan together.

Subs crucial to Taiwan’s defense

Fang Ping-sheng 方屏生

The nation’s first domestically made submarine, named the Hai Kun (海鯤), or “Narwhal,” had its commissioning ceremony at shipbuilder CSBC Corp’s Kaohsiung dockyard last week.

As the first indigenous defense submarine prototype, it still requires many modifications and final testing.

However, information leaks and corruption allegations surrounding the program have been making news headlines, causing furor and confusion among the general public. The Ministry of National Defense and prosecutors should quickly get to the bottom of the matter.

China’s trade actions a vote tactic

Taipei Times Editorial

China on Monday announced plans to extend a unilateral investigation into what it calls Taiwan’s trade barriers by three months to Jan. 12 next year, the eve of Taiwan’s presidential and legislative elections, showing Beijing’s intention to interfere in the vote.

The Chinese Ministry of Commerce announced on April 12, the day that the Democratic Progressive Party nominated Vice President William Lai (賴清德) as its presidential candidate, a probe into Taiwan’s import regulations on 2,455 types of products from China.

On Monday, China said that the probe, which was supposed to be completed this month, would be extended due to “complexities.” The announcement, as is typical for Beijing, was made in a brief statement with few details and no explanation for the decision.

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