President Lai Ching-te (賴清德) warned Wednesday that China views Taiwan’s year-end elections as a key test of its Taiwan policy and is seeking support for “patriotic forces” in Taiwan. 

Lai, who also chairs the ruling DPP, cited reports that a recent Beidaihe meeting issued important instructions on Taiwan-related work. He said China may use fake news, fake opinion polls, and other misinformation to influence the elections. 

Ko Chih-en (柯志恩), a KMT lawmaker and candidate for mayor of Kaohsiung, said Thursday that national security forces should promptly investigate if Chinese interference has occurred. She said, “I really think this logic is extremely absurd. If China is going to interfere in the election, then our national security agencies should quickly investigate and prosecute people when there is evidence. Don’t allow insinuations of election interference to spread everywhere. If there is evidence, prosecute people; if there is no evidence, shut up.” 

Fan Yun (范雲), secretary-general of the DPP legislative caucus, said China’s interference in Taiwan’s elections was not new and had been increasing, according to intelligence. She emphasized, “We have also seen a great deal of disinformation online, including a lot of videos and images, that actually show signs of the CCP manipulating and influencing the election behind the scenes. So I think individual KMT candidates should not assume that President Lai is targeting only one election or one city or county.”

Fan said various intelligence reports suggest that the government must be on high alert to the influence of external forces on elections in order for Taiwanese people to have democratic and fair elections.

She urged the public to stay vigilant, strengthen media literacy, and clarify misinformation. Fan also cited remarks by Zhang Weiwei (张维为), director of Fudan University’s China Institute, who said Taiwan would have “no next election,” as evidence of China’s efforts to intimidate and influence Taiwan’s politics.

The dispute follows similar accusations over alleged Chinese disinformation and fake polling in Kaohsiung.