China Using TikTok, TV To Spread Lies In Taiwan
In a warning to Beijing’s political warfare, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Fan Yun has testified before a US congressional hearing, detailing the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) expanding efforts to undermine Taiwan’s sovereignty and destabilise its democracy, the Taipei Times reported.
According to the Taipei Times, the US Congressional-Executive Commission on China (CECC) convened a hearing on Wednesday titled “Stand with Taiwan: Countering the PRC’s Political Warfare and Transnational Repression.” Fan testified via video, stating that Beijing’s aggression has evolved far beyond military threats. it now includes psychological operations, economic coercion, espionage, disinformation, and cross-border intimidation.
“China has weaponised UN Resolution 2758 to legitimise its aggression, using it as political propaganda to justify a future invasion of Taiwan,” Fan told the hearing, as quoted by the Taipei Times. She also referenced a chilling incident: a suspected CCP-orchestrated attempt to collide with Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim’s convoy in the Czech Republic last year.
The Taipei Times cited Fan’s alarming data from Taiwan’s National Security Bureau, which recorded a fourfold spike in spying indictments, from 16 in 2021 to 64 in 2024, while Chinese-linked disinformation ballooned from 1.3 million messages in 2023 to 2.2 million last year. Fan also exposed how Chinese state organs directly instruct certain Taiwanese media firms to amplify pro-Beijing narratives.
The PRC’s infiltration has also gone local. Fan revealed that CCP-run “united front” networks in Taiwan target students, religious leaders, and village wardens, luring them with subsidised trips and economic promises, the Taipei Times noted. TikTok, in particular, has been a platform of influence, making young users more receptive to Beijing’s views.
Retired US Navy intelligence chief Mike Studeman echoed Fan’s concerns, stating the CCP’s internal subversion tactics are “relentless and pervasive.” He urged Washington to help Taipei modernise its classified clearance systems, boost cyber resilience, and expand defence cooperation, the Taipei Times reported.
“Taiwan alone cannot deter China’s aggression,” Fan concluded, urging a united global front to defend democratic values. “Standing with Taiwan is standing for freedom,” she said, according to the Taipei Times. (ANI)
