Taiwan has yet again flagged China’s “diverse” ways of interfering
in its elections in January, from military pressure to disseminating fake news,
including manipulating opinion polls, said a senior Taiwanese security official.
Taiwan and China’s relationship is sour since the giant Asian
nation claims the democratically governed island as its own and seeks to influence
the outcome to candidates, who may be more favourable toward the country.
“The way the Chinese Communists interfere in elections is very
diversified,” Taiwan National Security Bureau Director-General Tsai Ming-yen
told lawmakers during a parliamentary committee session.
China can use military pressure, economic coercion or fake news to
create a false choice between “war or peace” in the election, seeking to intimidate
voters, said Tsai.
“We are paying special attention to the Chinese Communists
cooperating with opinion poll and public relations companies for the
possibility of manipulating opinion polls and issuing them to interfere in the
elections,” he added, without naming any companies.
Taiwan Vice President William Lai of the ruling Democratic
Progressive Party, which champions the island’s separate identity from China,
is the favourite to be the next president, as per the opinion polls.
China considers Lai and his party to be separatists and has
repeatedly rejected their offers of talks. Lai says that he does not seek to
change the status quo across the Taiwan Strait, but that only Taiwan’s people
can decide their future.
China has increased military activities around Taiwan since the
last election in 2020, and regularly sends warships and fighters into the seas
and skies near the island.
Tsai said China’s most recent drills close to Taiwan, which started
last month and have been described by Taiwan’s defence minister as “abnormal”,
were virtually the same as those in previous years in terms of their focus,
such as landing exercises.
But more aircraft and ships were involved this time and there were
more practice firings by the People’s Liberation Army Rocket Force (PLARF),
which oversees China’s conventional and nuclear missiles, he added.
That might be related to Chinese President Xi Jinping seeking to
exert his control over the PLARF, Tsai said, a branch of China’s military that
has come under focus after its two most senior leaders were suddenly replaced
at the end of July with outside commanders.
