three days before the presidential election, disinformation at its highest

2024-01-10 09:50:00

Tensions between Taiwanese are at their peak. As a reminder, the inhabitants of Taiwan will vote on Saturday to elect their next president. The presidential election on January 13 will pit current Vice-President Lai Ching-te, of the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), defender of the island’s sovereignty, once morest two candidates favoring a rapprochement with China.

A few days before this vote, positions are becoming more and more clear-cut and are fueled in particular by false and misleading videos on TikTok which are multiplying, essentially targeting candidates in favor of the independence of the island. This influence campaign is, according to Taiwanese experts and representatives, orchestrated by Beijing.

Tensions within the country

Tensions are also felt among the candidates. That of the PDP, currently leading in the polls with around 35% of voting intentions, the current vice-president Lai Ching-Te, is described as a pragmatic supporter of independence, even if this word is never uttered officially. During a televised debate on Saturday, his two main opponents – who might not agree on a single candidacy – castigated the positions of the PDP candidate who “undermine Taiwan’s security.”

The United States and China still argue over Taiwan

Taiwan’s sovereignty “belongs to the 23 million inhabitants” of the island, he retorted. During the debate, Lai Ching-Te also accused Hou Yu-ih, the candidate of the Kuomintang (KMT) party – seen as having closer ties to Beijing – of being pro-China. “I will not go back (to the past) like the Kuomintang, and I will not be prepared to become a vassal of totalitarianism”launched the Democratic candidate to his rival.

“We must maintain communication and exchanges (with China). It is because you have not done so that we see great danger on the other side of the strait », pleaded Hou Yu-ih, reiterating his opposition to Taiwan’s independence. Lai Ching-Te also attacked Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) candidate Ko Wen-je for declaring that the island and China “are only one family”.

The latter denounced the policy of the current president and judges that the PDP “has too confrontational an attitude” with China. According to Financial Timesone of the keys to this election will be the young electorate, traditionally more favorable to the PDP, but who appear increasingly confused by politics and by the attitude to adopt towards China.

Battle between the United States and China

And the vote does not only interest the inhabitants of the island. During bilateral military discussions organized in Washington this Wednesday, Beijing once once more warned the United States. “ On the Taiwan issue, China will never make the slightest compromise or concession “, indicated the Chinese military delegation during their discussions, according to a press release from the Ministry of Defense.

« It demands that the United States respect the principle of one China, that it respect its promise in a concrete way by stopping arming Taiwan and opposing any independence for Taiwan. “, she emphasized.

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The election is being closely followed by Beijing and Washington, each of which has different interests. If the United States recognizes the People’s Republic of China as the only legitimate Chinese government, they are also the main military support of the democratic authorities of the island which is home to 23 million inhabitants.

A support that annoys Beijing, which for its part believes that Taiwan is one of its provinces, which it has not yet succeeded in reunifying with the rest of its territory since the end of the Chinese civil war in 1949. elsewhere, if Xi Jinping’s government says it favors reunification “ peaceful » with the island, it has never renounced the use of military force.

Tensions in the China Sea

This Wednesday, China also addressed the subject of tensions in the South China Sea where the two powers carried out parallel military maneuvers last week. “ China urges US to reduce military presence and provocative actions in South China Sea “, senior Chinese military officials appealed to their American counterparts. Chinese warships conducted exercises in the South China Sea on Thursday, as the Philippines trained with the US military following a series of incidents with Beijing in disputed waters.

The United States and China still argue over Taiwan

And Chinese military forces didn’t stop there. Tuesday, theThe Taiwanese received an alert message on their phones, shortly following 3 p.m. (8 a.m. in Paris), calling on the population to “ be careful » car « China launched a satellite that flew over southern airspace “. Beijing regularly deploys its military force by sending fighter jets, reconnaissance drones and warships around the island. In recent years, it has carried out several large-scale military exercises, notably to simulate a blockade of Taiwan.

And lately, it has been sending Chinese balloons into the skies over Taiwan. Since December, around twenty mysterious balloons have also crossed the Taiwan Strait which separates the island from mainland China, according to the Taiwanese Ministry of Defense. An initiative which, according to the Taiwanese army, is a “ psychological warfare » carried out by Beijing to try to influence the vote. When asked regarding this, the Chinese Defense Ministry rejected any accusation of interference and accused Taiwan of trying to “ manipulate elections ».