During a May 19 press conference, Legislative Yuan Spokesman Lo Ping-cheng said authorities in Beijing conducted the disinformation campaign to "worsen the outbreak" and "reduce the whole society's productive activities." He added that the CCP conducted the campaign with the intent of "frustrating [the] Taiwanese people [and] deepening the conflicts among [them.]
According to the spokesman, three government departments in Beijing were behind the acts of "psychological warfare." He named the People's Liberation Army network system department, the Ministry of National Security and Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council (TAO) as the ones responsible.
Lo mentioned another example of the psychological warfare conducted by the CCP against the island nation. Two days before the Legislative Yuan press conference, TAO spokeswoman Zhu Fenglian said: "A large number of Taiwanese compatriots are eagerly looking forward to using mainland China-made COVID-19 vaccines. The top priority … is to remove the political barrier that [the] Taiwanese government created and vaccinate the majority [of] Taiwanese people with China-made vaccines."
Chinese state-run media, Taiwanese media supporting the mainland and pro-Beijing politicians in the island nation echoed Zhu's May 17 statement. But Lo denounced Zhu's statement as incorrect and added that the CCP was trying to convince people that Beijing had successfully curbed the COVID-19 pandemic. He added that the Chinese regime was brainwashing people into believing that the Taiwanese government did not do well in handling COVID-19.
Ultimately, the Legislative Yuan spokesman warned that disinformation from the mainland spreading among Taiwanese is as bad as COVID-19 and can hurt the people and the society. He urged Taiwanese to be aware of the CCP's disinformation and avoid sharing and spreading false information.
Beijing has been attempting to destabilize Taipei ever since the onset of the Wuhan coronavirus pandemic
The disinformation campaign from Beijing followed a new COVID-19 outbreak that hit Taiwan this month. The island nation did not report any locally transmitted cases until the middle of May. Because of the outbreak, many residents of Taipei and New Taipei City decided to isolate themselves. Both areas meanwhile announced new restrictions – such as mask mandates in public areas, closure orders for non-essential businesses and limits on indoor and outdoor gatherings.
The CCP capitalized on people's worries and fears during this new outbreak by spreading disinformation. Taiwanese citizens quickly spread false information on social media, which led to the government warning people about Beijing's attempt to disorient the people.
Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen urged the populace on May 16 to only follow government notices. She claimed that there is "too much information" circulating with regard to the recent spread of COVID-19. "We don't know if they are true or false," she added.
Central Police University professor Tung Li-wen told The Epoch Times on May 20 that the Chinese regime attacks Taiwan by spreading fake news. He added: "Once there's a significant development in Taiwan, the Chinese communist regime will strengthen its use of psychological warfare."
According to Tung, the CCP uses "extreme words to defame and discredit" the Taiwanese government's efforts and achievements in battling COVID-19. He cited examples of this inflammatory rhetoric such as "Taiwan will collapse soon" and "Even a lockdown of [Taiwanese] cities won't work."
Tung also listed other methods that the CCP uses to sow confusion among the Taiwanese. These included the creation of false reports using content farms, the use of artificial intelligence to spread the fake news and the use of troll groups to target Taiwanese on social media. The professor lamented that some Taiwanese people believed the false news reports because they were written in a manner easily accepted by people.
The disinformation effort from Beijing followed an earlier move last month
This was not the first time Beijing launched a disinformation campaign against Taipei. Last month, Tsai warned of similar psychological warfare efforts launched by the CCP following a fake document becoming viral in the country. The document claimed that the Taiwanese president planned to import water from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, an April 20 report by The Epoch Times said.
The fake document used the official format used by Tsai's office for public statements, which could easily fool most. However, the Taiwanese president pointed out three flaws in the purported statement.
First, the document was supposedly issued April 16 – yet it circulated a day before. Second, the decision to import the water from Fukushima was made during a cabinet meeting – which the Taiwanese government does not hold. Third, the document was written using simplified Chinese characters: Taiwan uses traditional Chinese.
Because of these three flaws, Tsai concluded on April 15 that the document was an "act of psychological warfare." She believed that organized elements working in the mainland were behind the spread of the false document.
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