Senior Chinese leaders met earlier this month to “coordinate” government efforts to sway Taiwan’s upcoming elections, according to intelligence gathered by the island nation.
Taiwanese officials, who view the move as voting interference, have warned that the Asian giant is trying to influence voters in favour of candidates who seek closer ties to China, which claims Taiwan to be part of its own territory.
Overview
The meeting was held in Beijing and attended by the Chinese Communist Party’s fourth-ranked leader, Wang Huning, who is also deputy head of the Central Leading Group for Taiwan Affairs, and chaired by President Xi Jinping, according to multiple Taiwanese security officials familiar with the matter.
In addition, senior personnel from agencies including China’s Publicity Department, State Security Ministry, Defence Ministry, and the Taiwan Affairs Office were present at the meeting, the officials said, citing intelligence gathered by Taipei.
The Taiwanese presidential and legislative election on 13 January comes at the heels of China ramping up military and political pressure to try to force the democratically governed island to accept its sovereignty.
Further, the news comes after US President Joe Biden asked Xi to respect Taiwan’s electoral process last month.
China’s Taiwan Affairs Office commented on the upcoming elections saying it respects Taiwan’s “social systems.”
Taiwanese Intelligence Findings
According to an internal Taiwanese government memo on the intelligence in question, the Chinese meeting focused on “ensuring the effectiveness and coordination of various work on the Taiwan elections.”
The meeting concluded that different agencies should “consolidate” their work with respect to Taiwan, with the Publicity Department and a psychological warfare unit under the People’s Liberation Army, called “Base 311,” which runs influence campaigns to sway public opinion through news outlets and social media.
It added that China’s Taiwan Affairs Office and the United Front Work Department were responsible for carrying out outreach programmes that included exchange activities with Taiwanese politicians and discounted air tickets for Taiwanese living in China to fly home to vote.
The memo further said that China would continue to “play up the narrative of a ‘choice between peace and war,’” which argues that, if the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) stays in power, a war with China is likely.
Beijing has repeatedly called the DPP dangerous separatists and urged Taiwanese citizens to make the “right choice.” As of now, the DPP’s presidential candidate, Lai Ching-te, is leading in the polls.
Internal security reports reviewed by Reuters showed that the Taiwanese government is on high alert to tackle what they views as Chinese attempts to interfere in the elections by illicitly funding Beijing-friendly candidates using communications apps, group tours or misinformation campaigns.
Moreover, Beijing has sponsored discounted trips to China for hundreds of local Taiwanese politicians ahead of the elections, as reported by Reuters, citing sources and documents.
“They are coordinating their work on Taiwan in the final days to the elections,” one of the sources said. “They want the best outcome possible.”
In the meeting, Beijing also decided to “adjust the pace” of its campaigns, a senior official said, due to negative reactions in Taiwan after recent Taiwan government scrutiny over the discounted trips.