China Develops New Website Targeting Taiwanese Independence “Diehards”

On August 6th, China's Taiwan Affairs Office (TAO) launched a new section to its website called "Punish Taiwanese Independence Diehards According to the Law." The section contains a list of Taiwanese "secessionists," laws against "Taiwanese independence," and statements made by TAO spokespeople. People can access the section by clicking the floating icon on the TAO's homepage..New Website.The site is divided into five mastheads that will open the links in a new tab when visitors click on titles. Each masthead also has a button that will take users to the webpage when clicked. The first masthead is called "the List of "Taiwan Independence" Diehards and contains the names of 10 individuals. The individuals are: Su Tseng-chang, You Si-kun, Wu 'Joseph' Jaushieh, Hsiao Bi-khim, Koo 'Wellington' Li-hsiung, Tsai Chi-chang, Ker Chien-ming, Lin Fei-fan, Chen Jiau-hua, and Wang, Ting-yu. The individuals are either senior officials in current Taiwanese President William Lai's government or current or former members of the Legislative Yuan. The people are either members of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) or New Power Party (NPP)..The second masthead is called "Relevant Statements by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) Central Committee and the State Council TAO Spokespeople." The section contains six articles, spans from 2021 to 2023, and focuses on various topics related to "Taiwan Independence" diehards. Three articles focus on stating how China will severely punish "Taiwan Independence" diehards listed in the first masthead. Two articles discuss how institutions that either promote Taiwanese independence or are affiliated with Taiwanese diehards will receive punishment. One article discusses how China enacted sanctions against individuals who are considered Taiwanese secessionists..The third masthead, "Legal Documents," contains links to the 2005 anti-secession law and the 2024 opinions about punishing Taiwanese independence diehards..The fourth and fifth mastheads have an email address for individuals to send in reports about current or new "Taiwanese independence" diehards..Taiwan's Reaction.Mainland Affairs Council Deputy Chairman and Spokesperson Liang Wen-chieh commented on the new website during a press conference on August 8th. The spokesperson focused on the website's new mailbox for reporting Taiwan independence activities. Liang said that the mailbox would encourage people to report individuals for Taiwanese independence activities, which could lead to consequences. The consequences include false accusations against people and using the system to solve their personal or professional disagreements..The spokesperson emphasized this by providing the example of the comedian Huang An, who accused his rivals Zhou Ziyi and Lu Guangzhong of supporting Taiwanese independence, and how the accusations caused a backlash against them in China. Liang said the website does not promote positive cross-strait exchanges and creates obstacles that harm cross-strait interactions. He said that the MAC "believes that the mainland side should do more to help the positive interaction between the two sides, which is the right thing to do.".Section Will Not Dissuade Further Interactions with Foreign Officials or Decrease Support for Taiwanese Parties.China created the section as part of its campaign to dissuade countries and other entities from meeting or working with the current Taiwanese government. The section serves as part of China's influence campaign to decrease the level of support the Taiwanese people give to the DPP, NPP, and other pro-Taiwanese independence parties. In June 2024, China began the campaign by releasing the "Opinions on Punishing, in Accordance with the Law, The Crimes of Secession, and Incitement to Secession Committed by Hardcore 'Taiwan Independence' Elements.".The opinions were meant to decrease the interactions foreign entities and officials would have with Taiwanese officials. The initial campaign, however, failed to dissuade countries or entities from interacting with Lai's government. The evidence for the campaign's failure is the various times when Taiwanese officials met their foreign counterparts in Taiwan or on overseas trips. The Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China (IPAC) summit convinced China to increase the pressure that foreign officials and institutions would face if they continued to meet with Taiwanese officials..The campaign would not decrease the number of meetings that Taiwanese officials would have with their foreign counterparts because China is limited in how it could effectively respond. China will face consequences if it imposes sanctions on foreign officials for meeting with Taiwanese representatives. One consequence is that countries would not have an incentive to increase Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in China. Countries already lack incentive to invest in China because of the increased CCP control over the Chinese economy and society, as well as the Counterintelligence and Protecting State Secrets Laws that prevent companies from conducting due diligence work..China created the section to decrease the Taiwanese population's support for the DPP and other parties that advocate for Taiwanese independence. The content is designed to provide a persuasive argument why China would label the ten politicians as Taiwanese independence diehards. The developers created the mastheads to build on the preceding section and are designed to elicit an emotional response. This methodology is significant because the last two mastheads contain the email address to send reports about people who participate in Taiwan independence activities. Another aspect of the methodology is that the list does not contain politicians from the Kuomintang (KMT) or Taiwan People's Party (TPP). China hopes people who read the content will understand that the KMT or TPP members are not on the list because they advocate for closer relations with the country. The creators want people to develop their thoughts not only against the political parties but individuals who advocate for Taiwanese independence.