A 23-year-old Chinese-Australian woman named Yang Lanlan recently caused a scandal while driving a luxury car and hitting a pedestrian. Her immense wealth and mysterious identity have sparked speculation, with some even suggesting a connection to Beijing’s Zhongnanhai. At this juncture, Chinese mainland media reported that Yang Lanlan is Taiwanese. In response to this, the executive director of the Indo-Pacific Strategic Think Tank, Nobuo Shibata, pointed out that Yang Lanlan is likely a member of a Chinese elite family, and the statements made by mainland Chinese media are a form of cognitive warfare.
On the morning of July 27th, Australian time, Yang Lanlan was driving a million-dollar Rolls-Royce in the upscale residential area of Rose Bay in Sydney, Australia when she lost control on the slippery road and collided head-on with the Mercedes of Australian radio host Kyle Sandilands, severely injuring his full-time driver, who had to undergo amputation. Yang Lanlan refused to undergo an alcohol test by local police and was arrested on the spot. Her lawyer quickly posted a huge bail for her. It was also revealed that her account held large deposits. Subsequently, various speculations about Yang Lanlan’s identity spread online.
“Some say she is the great-granddaughter of former Chinese President Yang Shangkun; some say she is the granddaughter of former Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi; and there are even claims that she is the illegitimate daughter of Chinese President Xi Jinping.” Shibata Nobuo posted on Facebook late on the night of August 12th, “Just as everyone was speculating, suddenly an article appeared on major Chinese websites like NetEase, claiming that this Yang Lanlan is ‘Taiwanese.'”
The article stated that Yang Lanlan was born in Taipei in 2002, holds permanent residency in Australia, and resides in two waterfront villas in Dobowen, Sydney. Her father, Yang Zhengxiong, is the head of the Zhengxiong Group in Taiwan and also serves as a director of the Taiwan Business Council. Her mother is Lin Shuhui, the executive director of the Zhengxiong Culture and Education Foundation and also a director of the Taiwan Buddhist Charity Foundation. The family’s business is involved in illegal activities and political affairs, notorious in Taiwan.
The article further mentioned, “In 2015, the Zhengxiong Group undertook the redevelopment project of the military dependents’ village in the Xinyi District of Taipei. Yang Zhengxiong profited 24 million Taiwanese dollars by falsely reporting the prices of construction materials and bribing 8 million Taiwanese dollars to Lai Sure to pass the project under the guise of ‘acceptance.’ After the villagers moved in, problems such as cracked walls and leaks frequently occurred. During the 2020 presidential election campaign, the Zhengxiong Group donated 50 million Taiwanese dollars under the name of ‘New Generation Industry Fund’ in exchange for policies; and during the 2022 Tainan mayoral election, it provided 30 million Taiwanese dollars in ‘policy consultation fees’ to the Lai Ching-te camp, directly interfering in local affairs.”
Shibata Nobuo bluntly stated, “Anyone with a little understanding of Taiwanese society would know that there are too many inaccuracies in this article written as if it were true. For example, the article mentions that Yang Lanlan’s father bribed Lai Sure, a former Taipei City Councilor from the Kuomintang party, during the 2015 renovation of the military dependents’ village in Taipei, but in reality, Lai Sure had already lost the election at the end of 2014. It also mentions the 2022 Tainan mayoral election, where her father provided policy consultation fees to the Lai Ching-te camp, but in fact, Lai Ching-te was already the Vice President at that time and did not participate in the Tainan mayoral election in 2022.”
Shibata Nobuo pointed out, “Yang Lanlan is likely a member of China’s elite. Portraying her as Taiwanese and simultaneously smearing the Democratic Progressive Party is a clever tactic of misdirection and a form of cognitive warfare.”
Many netizens commented, “Taiwanese rarely use repeated characters in their names”, “This name truly sounds Chinese”, “I’ve heard that in China, the names of descendants of high-ranking officials are often repeated characters, like Bo Xilai’s son Bo Guagua, Liu Shaoqi’s daughter Liu Pingping, Mao Zedong’s great-grandson Mao Dongdong”, “Still, in Australia, even mentioning Sydney, Taiwanese people wouldn’t speak in such a way”, “It is likely her third-generation official status and immense wealth that have stirred up resentment among her fellow countrymen, discontent with the wealth gap, prompting the internet army to whitewash her as a Taiwanese”, “Just observe which media follow-up reports, and you’ll probably understand the situation”, “There’s no such thing as a foolproof plan.”