Taiwan’s Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmakers questioned in the Legislative Yuan, the island nation’s legislature, that China’s United Front radio waves have invaded all of Taiwan with more than ten different stations. Taiwan officials promised to meet within a month to review the situation.
Lai Pin-yu, a member of the ruling DDP, said, “Some people drive through the Miaoli and Hsinchu areas and want to listen to Taiwan’s local radio stations, but they can’t receive them. To their dismay, they receive several Chinese radio stations instead, all of which have united-front content and promote China’s policy toward Taiwan.
She added that all counties and cities in Taiwan can receive Chinese broadcasts, both AM and FM. She can even listen to China’s Voice of the Taiwan Strait station in her office in Taipei.
According to Lai, more than ten radio channels from China can be received in Taiwan. Taiwan’s radio channels are usually set in odd numbers, and these stations from across the strait are often set in even numbers.
In response, Chiu Tai-san, minister of the Mainland Affairs Council, said that there are two ways in which China is infiltrating Taiwan through broadcasting. One is that it transmits high-power signals directly to Taiwan. The second is to have Taiwan’s radio stations produce or broadcast Chinese-made content, which violates the Act Governing Relations between the People of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland.
Radio Free Asia interviewed Gong Yujian, a Chinese dissident now living in Taipei. Gong said he has been listening to Chinese broadcasts for the past two and a half years. He has also listened to Taiwan’s military radio, which broadcasts to mainland China.
Gong pointed out that the “Voice of the Taiwan Strait” station, which is affiliated with China National Radio under the Central Propaganda Department of the Chinese Communist Party, imitates a Taiwanese accent or uses young Taiwanese as anchors. It produces many soft programs on travel, food, and lifestyle to package the content of China’s united front.
Gong believed that Taiwan’s Kinsmen and China’s Xiamen are too close to each other. The radio frequency can easily be occupied by Chinese broadcasts, which is a geographical and technological problem. Recently, Matsu Island’s undersea cable was cut. As a result, people cannot connect to Taiwan’s network. Some local people have even used Chinese mobile phone numbers to access the Internet.
Gong added that Taiwan is a democratic and free society and cannot control information. The only way is for Taiwan to build radio stations in the same frequency and transmit radio waves that are stronger than the Chinese counterparts. Of course, that could cost a lot of money.
Source: Radio Free Asia, March 14, 2023
https://www.rfa.org/mandarin/yataibaodao/gangtai/hx1-03142023090956.html