In February, exiled Chinese writer Yuan Hongbing revealed that China aims to use the Kuomintang’s (KMT’s) influence in Taiwan’s legislature to advance its united front strategy, sparking a political storm. Yuan stated in an interview that the information came from a “princeling” (child of a Chinese revolutionary leader) whom Xi Jinping does not dare to challenge. The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) wants to turn the KMT into the vanguard force of the People’s Liberation Army to achieve unification of Taiwan with mainland China from within.
According to Yuan’s analysis, the CCP is not just using military intimidation to destabilize Taiwan; it is also using propaganda, deployment of agents, and expansion of the KMT’s legislative power to override the Taiwanese administration. Yuan said that the CCP wants the KMT to pave the way for Xi Jinping to fully occupy Taiwan, and that the recent military drills are aimed at supporting the CCP’s agents in Taiwan.
While some members of Taiwan’s Democratic Progressive Party may have been co-opted by Beijing, Yuan said that the party as a whole rejects CCP influence. This stands in contrast to the political attitude of the pro-China KMT party.
Yuan stated that the CCP’s Taiwan policy has shifted from coercion and enticement to psychological warfare, aiming to demoralize Taiwanese. He praised the peaceful protests outside the of Taiwan’s Legislature as social forces advocating for self-defense that could resist Beijing’s intimidation.
Yuan, a former Beijing University law professor, was exiled from China for supporting the 1989 pro-democracy movement.
Source: Central News Agency (Taiwan), May 24, 2024
https://www.cna.com.tw/news/acn/202405240174.aspx