A Taiwanese radio host and his wife were charged Monday with receiving $2.3 million from “foreign sources”including China, to influence elections and referendums on the island. The man, whose last name is Chang, and his wife, named Hung, are being prosecuted for violating Taiwan's anti-infiltration law, according to the prosecutors' office in Chiayi city in southern Taiwan.
The couple is accused of receiving the equivalent of 74 million Taiwan dollars ($2.3 million) between 2011 and 2023 from “sources of infiltration abroad” including the Taiwan Affairs Office, a mainland Chinese body responsible for trade between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait. Members of a small political party that promotes the unification of Taiwan with China, they face five years in prison and a fine of 10 million Taiwan dollars if convicted.
“Promote their propaganda, infiltrate, divide”
“External forces have long taken advantage of freedom of expression and the diverse political environment of our country to promote their propaganda, infiltrate, divide (…) which seriously threatens our national security”prosecutors said. According to the prosecution, Chang and Hung used scripts provided by “external forces” in radio shows and on social networks, with the aim of influencing public opinion during several elections and referendums since 2021, including the presidential and legislative elections this year, according to prosecutors.
They are also accused of having “frequently promoted” China's ability to persuade Taiwanese forces “to surrender or defect in the event of war”shows the prosecutor's statement. Taiwanese authorities have regularly expressed concerns about electoral interference and disinformation before the January elections that brought to power President Lai Ching-te, accused by Beijing of “separatists”.
Beijing, which considers Taiwan as part of its territory and has not ruled out using force to place the island under its control, has intensified its military pressure around the island recently. The Chinese military deploys its military planes and ships around the island almost daily and has held two large-scale military exercises since Mr. Lai took office in May.
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