The Chinese Communist Party’s Taiwan Affairs Office announced disciplinary measures against the father of Taiwanese legislator Shen Boyang for his business dealings with companies in various regions of China, allegedly seeking benefits through these transactions. This move has sparked strong backlash from Taiwan’s political circles and public opinion, accusing the CCP of interfering in Taiwan’s internal affairs through ideological manipulation and pressuring the recall movement, essentially launching a propaganda war against democratic mechanisms.
According to the official Chinese media Xinhua News Agency, Zhu Fenglian, a spokesperson for the Taiwan Affairs Office, stated on the 5th that the father of “Taiwan independence hardliner” Shen Boyang is the head of the company “Zhao Yi Corporation” in Taiwan, which has trade cooperation with enterprises in Zhejiang, Guangdong, Fujian, and other places in China, gaining economic benefits. The Taiwan Affairs Office therefore announced a ban on Zhao Yi Corporation from conducting any transactions or cooperation with mainland Chinese organizations, enterprises, and individuals, and stated that other necessary measures would be taken.
Public records show that Shen Boyang is a legislator from the Democratic Progressive Party, and recently there were reports of his father’s company being involved in transactions worth tens of millions of Chinese yuan. Shen Boyang posted on Facebook confirming that his father is indeed involved in trading, but has not been to China for six years, refuting the claim of being a “money launderer.”
In response to this, Shen Boyang released a video on the same day, stating that he has been sanctioned by the CCP for the third time within a year and now even his family has become targets of repression.
Shen Boyang pointed out that the recent national security-related bills he promoted in parliament, including “Legislators’ Reporting Requirement to China” and “Punishment for United Front Activities,” are the main reasons for the CCP’s dissatisfaction. “Taiwan just wants to resist the CCP’s aggression, and it makes the CCP so anxious. Now for the CCP, it seems like even your breath signifies Taiwan independence.”
Regarding the accusation that the family business traded with China, Shen Boyang stated firmly, “Our family runs a trading company that deals with trade in Central and South America, assisting foreign companies in placing orders in various countries, including automotive parts from China, tires from Thailand, and motors from Japan.”
He criticized the CCP’s actions as sacrificing its own producers and people, “playing with ideology just to target a parliamentarian and his family,” describing it as a “foolish act” that only the Communist Party would do.
Veteran media personality and human rights activist Yang Xianhong told Epoch Times reporters that the CCP is in a precarious situation and the action taken against Shen Boyang’s father’s company serves as a template to intimidate Taiwanese businessmen.
However, he believes that such “disciplinary” actions by the CCP are of little significance, as those with real risk awareness have long since withdrawn, leaving behind a group that has become “hostages.”
The Taiwan Affairs Office of the CCP announced in October 2024 that Cao Xingcheng and Taiwanese legislator Shen Boyang were included in the “list of stubborn Taiwanese independence elements” and took “disciplinary” actions against both individuals and the “Black Bear Academy,” a Taiwanese civil defense promotion organization associated with them, citing their engagement in “Taiwan independence activities.”
Regarding the CCP’s “disciplinary actions,” the founder of United Microelectronics Corporation and volunteer of the Anti-Communist and Pro-Taiwan Alliance, Cao Xingcheng, pointed out in an interview with Epoch Times that the CCP is attempting to obstruct Taiwanese democracy and impede the progress of the recall movement.
“We are pushing for the recall to prevent Taiwan from becoming like Hong Kong, and the opposition Kuomintang legislators are colluding with the Communist Party to paralyze the parliament,” he emphasized, noting that the CCP only took action to suppress the leaders and spokespersons when they saw the momentum of the recall intensifying.
Cao Xingcheng is also one of the leading proponents of the recall case in Taiwan.
In November 2024, Cao Xingcheng sued the head and spokesperson of the Taiwan Affairs Office of the CCP, accusing them of imposing sanctions on him involving intimidation and stating that the lawsuit was aimed at “fighting back against the dictatorship and ruffianism of the Communist Party.”
On June 6, Cao Xingcheng stated that the CCP’s goal in targeting these individuals is very clear, to prevent the widening of the recall case in parliament, “This is a very clear sign, the blue and red sides joining forces to destroy Taiwan’s freedom and democracy.”
The “Great Recall Movement” in Taiwan was launched at the end of 2024, targeting legislators in parliament who are perceived to be pro-China and diverging from public opinion. The movement is led by various civic groups and legislators, advocating for the defense of democratic institutions and preventing Taiwan from becoming “Hong Kong-ized.” Its demands include opposing collusion with the CCP and preventing the legislature from being controlled by the blue camp and pro-Communist forces.
As the mid-2025 approaches, the Great Recall has completed the second stage of petitioning and is moving towards the voting phase. The movement is seen as a nationwide backlash against Chinese infiltration and authoritarian interference in Taiwan’s society.
Assistant Professor Wang Zhisheng of the National Police University’s Border Police Department in Taiwan, noted in an interview with Taiwanese media, that the CCP’s move to discipline Shen Boyang at a critical juncture of the recall movement indicates its anxiety about the outcome.
He believes that the CCP’s actions are completely a “coordinated performance,” “leaked by the Ta Kung Pao first, then officially dealt with by the Taiwan Affairs Office,” with the aim of targeting core figures like Shen Boyang actively involved in the recall.
“The CCP sees Shen Boyang escalating the recall action as a ‘anti-China’ stance, just like targeting Cao Xingcheng, attempting to suppress public opinion through propaganda and punitive means,” Wang Zhisheng said.
Former Nationalist Party (KMT) military representative Huang Pengxiao pointed out that this disciplinary action is a repeat of the CCP’s familiar script, “first targeting enemy figures through the Ministry of State Security, investigating their entire family history, and pressuring them by finding vulnerabilities.” He stated that figures like Shen Boyang and Cao Xingcheng, who directly challenge the CCP’s united front with Taiwan, naturally become key targets for settlement.
“Shen Boyang founded the Black Bear Academy to strengthen Taiwan’s civil defense resilience, which in the eyes of the CCP is the most threatening representative of resistance against its military and political infiltration,” Huang Pengxiao said. He believes that the CCP’s move at this time is aimed at countering the “anti-Communist” wave driven by the recall movement.
Huang Pengxiao also pointed out that the CCP has always held a patronizing attitude towards Taiwanese businessmen, seeing business as charity rather than equal trade, and once considered “disloyal,” they are subject to punishment. “The trade dealings of Shen Boyang’s family are actually normal business activities, but in the eyes of the CCP, it has been politicized and used as a tool for ideological attacks.”
Wang Zhisheng stated that as the Taiwan recall moves into the voting phase, it is not ruled out that the CCP will expand its intervention actions, with the targets not limited to just Shen Boyang, “There may be more people subjected to rumors and smears in the future, aiming to disrupt voting and the expression of public opinion.”