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As Chinese warships and fighter jets staged massive drills around Taiwan in December, a parallel action was unfolding on smartphone screens. On Douyin, China’s version of TikTok, a news outlet run by the Chinese Communist Party posted a 51-second video of Taiwan opposition leader Cheng Li-wun accusing President Lai Ching-te of inviting Chinese aggression. Lai, Cheng said, was “dragging all 23 mill...
The strongest version of this narrative is that China is systematically weaponizing Taiwanese voices—particularly from the opposition KMT and influencers—to undermine the DPP’s legitimacy and erode public morale. By amplifying familiar figures like Cheng Li-wun, Beijing exploits domestic divisions, framing the DPP as reckless and war-mongering while positioning itself as the rational actor seeking peace. The tactic is sophisticated: it repackages organic Taiwanese criticism into state-sponsored ...
China turns Taiwan’s own voices against it in information war — Arc Codex