Recently, Taiwan’s new president, Lai Ching-te, took office, while the Taiwanese legislature deliberated on expanding parliamentary powers, leading to protests by 100,000 people. China’s attitude is ambiguous. Analysts believe that Taiwan is at the forefront of a confrontation between two major camps in the world. China is scheming to suppress Taiwan out of fear that the democratic tide will fundamentally shake its regime, and Western democratic countries must firmly support Taiwan.
On Friday, the Legislative Yuan of Taiwan continued its deliberations on related bills amending parliamentary powers, with over 50 civic groups protesting outside the legislature. By 9 p.m., the crowd had swelled to 100,000 people, creating a crowded scene at the assembly site.
Apart from the protests outside the Taipei Legislative Yuan, on Friday, civil groups across Taiwan launched the “Disdain for Parliament” nationwide chain activity. Protests were held in various cities such as Taichung, Nantou, Changhua, Chiayi, Tainan, Kaohsiung, Taitung, and Hualien.
As for the civilian protests outside the Legislative Yuan in Taiwan, the Chinese official media remained silent. Mainland websites such as Xinhua, People’s Daily, and Sina did not report on the events. A search on Baidu for “Taiwan Legislative Yuan protest” did not yield any relevant information, only information on “Legislative Yuan conflict.” However, on Google, the protests at the Legislative Yuan were clearly a focus of external attention.
Regarding the events at the Legislative Yuan in Taiwan, a scholar from Henan, Mr. Zheng, told Epoch Times on the 24th that there was no coverage domestically. These days, official media have been publicizing military actions against Taiwan. He believes the incident at the Legislative Yuan in Taiwan is another sign of the Chinese Communist Party’s schemes.
In response to the inauguration speech of the new Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te on May 20, where he was denounced by China for “Taiwan independence,” yet they dared not openly comment on Lai Ching-te’s speech. What did he actually say? (Previously reported: Reactions to Lai Ching-te’s Inaugural Speech Differ between Chinese Officials and the Public) Subsequently, China initiated military exercises claiming to “punish Taiwan independence.”
Regarding the debates and conflicts within the Legislative Yuan of Taiwan, the Chinese official media also extensively covered them with vivid reports.
The first day of amending legislation at the Legislative Yuan of Taiwan on May 17 saw heated debates, physical clashes that resulted in injuries to six lawmakers who were hospitalized. This was followed by battles on the 21st and 24th for votes. Currently, key clauses including expanding the right to hear, imposing the highest fine of NT$200,000 (about $6,500) on individuals who show contempt for parliament have passed the second reading and will be continued on the 28th (next Tuesday).
Searching “Taiwan Legislative Yuan brawl” on Baidu, Global Net reported a series of incidents about brawls and scuffles in the Taiwanese legislature, describing scenes of chaos and out of control situations.
Regarding the conflicts in the Legislative Yuan, Taiwanese military expert Li Zhengxiu told Epoch Times on the 24th, “To be honest, this is a kind of democratic expression. Why? Because when opinions differ, conflicts and even clashes are inevitable.”
“Conflict is a manifestation of democracy because it’s not a one-way street. Humans are not beasts that can be tamed with a whip and controlled. Everyone has their own freedom of thought and ideas.”
Therefore, Li Zhengxiu believes that China wants to use this method to obstruct or brainwash the people in mainland China. There may be some who accept it, but to be honest, more and more young people are gradually starting to think that people [in Taiwan] can express differing opinions.
“However, in mainland China, only the Party’s opinions are considered as such. If people’s opinions differ from the Party’s, they are no longer respected and may even be suppressed. In fact, Taiwan’s behavior is more of a display of democracy.”
“Democracy uses conflict and disagreements to progress and eventually reach compromises,” he said.
Beijing resident Zhang Hua, who follows current affairs, told Epoch Times that the Chinese official media did not report on the protests by Taiwanese people at the Legislative Yuan. Instead, they are creating an alternative “crowd effect.”
Zhang Hua revealed to Epoch Times that nonsensical video accounts discussing social news topics have appeared sporadically. This tactic was also used during the protests at American universities. These accounts claim that this is the failure of democracy and the cry for Taiwan independence. Many Taiwan-based anchors have started appearing on the Chinese-verified Douyin platform, broadcasting live from Taiwan late at night, discussing unification, attracting interaction from the public.
However, these anchors avoid sensitive terms such as mentioning Lai, Tsai, or the President. They talk more about their experiences in mainland China, portraying Taiwan as their IP address, and accounts that never posted similar videos before have started doing so. This tactic is similar to what was used during the conflicts in Israel and Palestine. These contents are only promoted through WeChat and short video platforms.
Zhang Hua believes that this is a direct incitement of the masses, creating a so-called “crowd effect” and then directly proclaiming it as public opinion. In reality, the authorities act as shadow assistants and cannot ignore public opinion. They find people like Hu Xijin, who after stepping down from public office, have become a part of the “crowd.”
Therefore, before the Third Plenum, the Chinese Communist Party tries to shape public opinion by arousing nationalistic sentiment and the wrath of patriotism. This is what constitutes the so-called “popular bases.”
“Through some special means, they make the international community think that whether it’s about Taiwan or supporting Xi, it’s all public opinion, deceiving public opinion and fooling Western societies. Eventually, they give themselves a way out, naturally progressing towards attacking Taiwan.”
Critics have long questioned why China is so fixated on “unifying” Taiwan, claiming it as a diplomatic “bottom line.” Is it for territorial control? However, Russia’s annexation equals an area over 40 times the size of Taiwan, so why doesn’t China pursue it?
Beijing law PhD Liu Ming told Epoch Times that Taiwan’s issue is a historical remnant of the Chinese Civil War but not solely a matter for China or the Chinese people or the Chinese nation internally.
“It has increasingly become a stark confrontation between two major political camps; that is, the developed democratic and rule of law constitutional camps such as Europe, America, Japan, Australia, and South Korea, and the few remaining authoritarian regimes like China, Russia, North Korea, and Iran, the evil axis, teetering on the edge. Only by viewing it from the perspective of these four evil axes, the authoritarian camps, and the opposition from the entire democratic world, can we explain why Europe, America, Japan, Australia, and South Korea have an obligation to Taiwan’s security.”
“Only from this angle can we truly understand the most profound essence of the Taiwan Strait issue and the relations between Taiwan and the mainland.”
“Authoritarianism and democracy are incompatible,” he said. The purpose of the Chinese Communist Party’s destruction of Hong Kong is to sever Hong Kong’s rule of law and freedoms, influencing and infiltrating mainland China subtly. Not to mention Taiwan, a comparatively mature constitutional democracy system.
“So, of course, they want to eliminate Taiwan; otherwise, Taiwan’s democratic constitutional values will eventually shake the core of the CCP’s dictatorship.”
Liu Ming believes that “Taiwan must strive in a direction that benefits holding onto Taiwan, the first democratic constitutional rule of law and human rights camp for the Chinese themselves. Whether it’s politicians in Taiwan, be it the Democratic Progressive Party or the Kuomintang, they must openly voice the idea of unifying China based on democratic constitution, rule of law, and human rights.”
Additionally, Liu Ming believes that the democratic camp of Europe, America, Japan, Australia, and South Korea must unequivocally let China know that “its ambition to take Taiwan by force will not be allowed.” Simultaneously, they must make it clear to Taiwan (regardless of which party is in power) that if China dares to attack, these democratic camps will unhesitatingly render military support and issue clear messages to both sides of the Taiwan Strait to deter China’s provocative military actions.