Taiwan faces a flood of disinformation from China ahead of crucial election. Here’s how it’s fighting back

December 16th, 2023
By Eric Cheung

Disinformation is something Taiwan’s security agencies are particularly alert to.

At a recent closed-door security briefing attended by CNN, Taiwan’s intelligence community warned that China has been working to influence Taiwan’s upcoming election through a series of disinformation, military and economic operations, with the goal of boosting the chances of opposition candidates who favor improving ties with Beijing.

According to Taiwanese intelligence, Wang Huning, the fourth-ranking leader in th Chinese Communist Party, recently convened a meeting to coordinate efforts to influence the election, while reducing the likelihood that external parties could find evidence of such interference.

“They hope that the party they dislike will lose the election,” a senior Taiwanese security official, referring to the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), which views Taiwan as a de facto sovereign nation and has prioritized elevating Taipei’s ties with Western powers since taking office in 2016.

The candidate for DPP, Vice President Lai Ching-te, is currently leading in the polls, and is openly loathed by Chinese officials.

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