China’s Interference in Taiwanese Elections as a Form of Political Power

Taiwan has accused the Chinese government of spreading misinformation as the Taiwanese general local elections approach on November 26. Taiwan’s president, Tsai Ing-wen, has called for “unity” against Chinese “bullying,” which she compares to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Moreover, according to The Guardian, Chinese disinformation campaigns tend to increase during local elections, because they are often seen as a precursor to presidential elections. Local officials like mayors often rise to prominent positions of power in subsequent years when national elections roll around, occurring about a year after local elections. The Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) claims Taiwan’s local elections have become a testing ground for disrupting the country’s democratic process through internet disinformation campaigns, which will have a crucial role in influencing future elections.

These disinformation campaigns are designed to polarize voters around issues like COVID-19 or economic and social statistics. These efforts are very reliant on social media platforms like YouTube to push out harmful rhetoric to voters. China’s use of mass media manipulation is years in the making. During a 2018 typhoon in Taiwan, one Reddit user claimed to have been evacuated by Chinese authorities along with other Taiwanese civilians, and both Chinese and Taiwanese news outlets picked up this story. Not only was the Reddit post untrue, but it was also designed to make Taiwanese rescue efforts seem ineffective or inadequate. False reports like this one have been widely circulated across Taiwan. The CFR observed that hackers and bots spread disinformation through social media platforms such as Reddit, Facebook, Weibo, and other popular chat apps because of how easily sensationalist stories are spread. Moreover, Chinese companies have been buying out Taiwanese media outlets in an effort to control the spread of information more directly, potentially boosting favorable content and suppressing unfavorable coverage.

China’s disinformation campaign in these local elections is part of a larger global influence campaign. Nothing has been able to effectively halt this spread of misinformation because it’s too nebulous. Even when Taiwan attempts to crack down on ‘fake news,’ the spread of misinformation is barely affected. However, because China is using these same tactics on the international stage with countries like the United States, it has become easier to detect where much of the disinformation comes from. Furthermore, the CFR argues that these campaigns have led to an overall “poor global image of China,” which could hinder its future disinformation endeavors.