Taiwan’s public welfare organizations and think tanks recently held a seminar on the topic of “Analyzing China’s (CCP) Invisible Frontline Against Taiwan and Taiwan’s Position in the Global Democratic Camp”. Scholars and experts were invited to discuss these important issues.
Hosted by Yan Weiting, a research assistant at the Institute of Political Science at Academia Sinica, it was pointed out that the CCP not only seeks to annex Taiwan but also aims to export its authoritarian system through initiatives like the Belt and Road Initiative and “Wolf Warrior Diplomacy”, challenging the post-Cold War dominant position of the United States. Apart from military intimidation, the CCP also infiltrates Taiwan through propaganda, psychological warfare, legal battles, and cultivating local collaborators.
Assistant professor Hsiao Duyuan from the Department of Political Science at National Chengchi University mentioned that the 2014 Occupy Central movement in Hong Kong touched on sensitive nerves of the CCP, leading to increased control over Hong Kong and escalated united front tactics towards Taiwan. During that time, when the Ma administration was in power, there was significant cross-strait exchange, with CCP institutionalized united front actions including organizing forums targeting different groups, providing favorable conditions for Taiwanese youth to study and work in China, and more.
Following the installment of the Tsai administration, Taiwanese people became more cautious, prompting the CCP’s united front strategy towards Taiwan to become more non-institutionalized. This includes prominently the cultivation of local agents, attracting influencers to divide Taiwanese society; followed by “red infiltration”, investing in Taiwan enterprises and even controlling industrial chains; thirdly, “cognitive warfare and sharp power”, manipulating Taiwanese media to influence public opinion; and lastly, “grey zone operations”, challenging Taiwan’s laws and sovereignty through probing and disruptive actions.
Associate professor Gu Mingjun from the Department of Sociology at National Tsing Hua University analyzed that religion is a global societal bond that the CCP exploits to extend its influence from domestic territories to overseas. Therefore, the CCP leader strives to enhance China’s influence on other Chinese societies through “sinicization of religion”.
Taiwan is at the forefront of these efforts, with CCP having specialized united front mechanisms at both local and central levels, enabling direct engagement with grassroots in Taiwan to establish networks of communication through activities such as religious rituals, symposiums, book editing, scholarships, and more.
It was revealed that when Chinese religious personnel visit Taiwan, they often include official CCP media personnel, projecting favorable united front narratives such as “Taiwanese people’s hearts turn towards the motherland” through disseminating images, thus enhancing CCP’s sharp power. On the flip side, the CCP government controls visas for Taiwanese religious leaders visiting the mainland, penalizing those displaying dissenting opinions or actions, weakening their influence among believers.
Research fellow Liu Wen from the Institute of Ethnology at Academia Sinica explained that the grey zone strategy lies between complete peace and total war in what is termed the “three warfare”. Firstly, the CCP continuously launches “legal warfare” in international organizations where Taiwan is absent, asserting its “One China” principle; secondly, through “propaganda warfare”, manipulating overseas information to promote CCP’s so-called “peaceful” development, undermining Taiwan’s allies and dividing democratic unity within Taiwan; thirdly, engaging in “psychological warfare” targeting not only military personnel but also persuading ordinary Taiwanese to “abandon resistance”.
Liu Wen also noted that apart from the depletion of resources and patrol capabilities of Taiwan’s armed forces due to continuous military provocations, there is a “paralyzing” effect causing a gradual reduction in the Taiwanese people’s anticipation of war. It is imperative for everyone to enhance the “correct risk perception” of war and strengthen the resilience to maintain their current way of life.
After the discussions, the host and young participants raised questions on topics such as “how to enhance public risk perception”, “how to identify controlled key opinion leaders (KOLs)”, and “how to dispel suspicions about the United States”. The speakers delved deeply into analyzing and providing answers to these important queries.