Chinese Leaders' Meeting Reveals Interference Plans for Taiwan's Presidential Election

Beijing has intensified its efforts to interfere in the upcoming Taiwan presidential election, with a senior Chinese official advising officials to work more efficiently and covertly during a recent high-level meeting. The meeting, headed by Wang Huning, the top official for Taiwan affairs in China's ruling Communist Party, aimed to coordinate the influence of various departments on the island's election on January 13, according to a senior Taiwanese security official. This information was shared with a small group of reporters, including CNN, and was based on intelligence gathered by the Taiwanese intelligence community.

Earlier this year, Wang, a trusted advisor to Chinese leader Xi Jinping, was assigned the responsibility of overseeing Taiwan affairs as the deputy head of the Central Leading Group for Taiwan Affairs, a decision-making body chaired by Xi.

A Taiwanese official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity due to the sensitive nature of the issue, revealed that Wang emphasized the need for the Chinese Communist Party to enhance its impact on Taiwan's public opinion, while also minimizing the chances of external parties uncovering evidence of their interference.

CNN has contacted the Taiwan Affairs Office of China for a comment. These accusations arise as the presidential candidates in Taiwan are vigorously campaigning for the crucial election, which is occurring during a period of intense tensions in the Taiwan Strait. China is increasing military, political, and economic pressure on the democratic island that it considers its own territory.

Vice President Lai Ching-te, the candidate for Taiwan's ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), is currently in the lead in the polls, with contenders in the China-friendly camp falling behind. Beijing, openly opposed to the DPP, has been accused of interfering in Taiwan's elections to support candidates who favor closer ties with China. Taiwanese officials have publicly warned of Beijing's increasingly varied tactics in recent months.

The Taiwanese security official observed that Beijing held the meeting following Xi's visit to San Francisco last month to meet with US President Joe Biden. During their four-hour talks, Biden cautioned Xi against interfering in Taiwan's elections. As a result, the source stated that Wang emphasized the importance of strategizing to ensure that external parties cannot easily uncover evidence of Beijing's interference.

The attending officials were instructed to collaborate with the Communist Party's Central Propaganda Department and the People's Liberation Army's Base 311, a psychological warfare unit based in the city of Fuzhou near the Taiwan Strait coast, as reported by the Taiwanese official. Base 311, established in 2005, has garnered interest from international defense experts due to its involvement in Beijing's "Three Warfares" strategy targeting Taiwan, which encompasses public opinion warfare, psychological warfare, and legal warfare.

The Taiwanese official stated that Base 311 is responsible for arranging trips for Taiwanese media to visit mainland China and creating short videos from Taiwanese programs to promote Beijing's narratives on social media. Additionally, the Chinese government's Taiwan Affairs Office and the Communist Party's United Front Work Department are tasked with engaging with Taiwanese businesspeople and low-ranking politicians.

The source reported that the meeting focused on emphasizing the narrative that the upcoming election is a "choice between war and peace," which blames the ruling DPP for provoking Beijing and stoking tensions. Additionally, the DPP candidates were described as "diehard Taiwan separatists."

Beijing has consistently criticized Lai, the DPP's candidate, as a "separatist" and "troublemaker" due to his pro-independence beliefs. Lai drew ire from Chinese officials in 2017 when he referred to himself as a "pragmatic worker for Taiwanese independence," but has since moderated his position after winning the nomination for the election.

Since last week, there has been a significant increase in social media posts targeting Lais's running mate and vice presidential candidate, Hsiao Bi-khim, which are believed to be orchestrated by the Chinese state. Allegations range from accusing Hsiao of being a "diehard separatist" to falsely claiming she still holds US citizenship, despite her recent role as Taiwan's top representative in the US.

According to the Taiwanese official, they are hopeful that the DPP, which has focused on strengthening Taipei's relationship with Washington since 2016, will lose the election. The official also stated that the party has been trying to persuade voters that the election is a decision between peace and war, and that one of the options consists of separatists.

The Communist Party of China has pledged to eventually "reunite" with Taiwan, even if it means using force. Surveys consistently show that the majority of Taiwanese people have no interest in being part of China, and an increasing number, particularly among younger generations, identify as Taiwanese rather than Chinese.

The DPP considers Taiwan to be a de facto independent nation, a position that angers Beijing, leading to a suspension of official communication with the island's government since the current ruling party took power.

Prior to Taiwan's inaugural direct presidential election in 1996, Beijing launched missiles towards the island in an attempt to dissuade voters from backing a candidate advocating for Taiwan's distinct identity from China. This maneuver, however, had the opposite effect, culminating in a resounding triumph for the candidate, Lee Teng-hui.

Subsequently, China has adopted an alternative strategy. Taiwanese authorities and analysts have alleged that Beijing is disseminating false information on social media, unlawfully financing election endeavors and media platforms, and exerting influence on Taiwanese enterprises through investments in Mainland China.

Prior to Taiwan's 2019 presidential and legislative elections, the island's legislature enacted the Anti-Infiltration Law to prevent political interference from China. This legislation aims to eliminate legal loopholes by prohibiting foreign entities from making political contributions, spreading false information, organizing campaign activities, or engaging in any other form of election interference.