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In a victory for Taiwan’s democracy, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) retained the presidency of the country for a third consecutive term. The legislative election resulted in the DPP winning 51 seats to the Koumintang’s (KMT’s) 52 seats, with 8 going to the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP). While president-elect Lai Ching-te has offered to speak with China “on the basis of dignity and parity,” the CCP has put its propaganda machine in full gear in an attempt to undermine Lai’s mandate in Taiwan and internationally.
CCP Claim #1: Taiwan is Not Sovereign
First, the CCP continues to reject Taiwan’s sovereignty. While some CCP officials make clear statements like “Taiwan is an inalienable part of China,” as cited by China News, the CCP’s references to Taiwan’s elections also indicate this view. For example, Global Timesmentions “Taiwan’s regional elections,” while China Daily refers to “the local leadership election on Taiwan island,” and “the local leadership election held on the Chinese island” in another article.
CCP Claim #2: Taiwan’s Election Does Not Reflect the Will of the People
Additionally, the CCP claims that, despite the DPP’s victory in Taiwan’s presidential election, the party does not represent the will of the Taiwanese people. According to one Global Times editorial, “Business representatives from the Taiwan region and experts” have “urged” the DPP “to abandon the previous approach of provoking ‘independence’ and confrontation,” while “emphasiz[ing] that [the DPP’s election win] has steered the island away from peace and prosperity, leading it toward conflict and recession.” Of course, the Global Times provides no evidence to back up these claims.
Additionally, a spokesman for China’s State Council Taiwan Affairs Office strangely spun the results of the legislative election, which saw the DPP receiving 51 seats to the KMT’s 52 seats as “results [that] reveal that the DPP cannot represent the mainstream public opinion on the island,” according to China Daily. Another China Daily editorial stated that a “reunification” between China and Taiwan “…has always been the dream of people on both sides of the Taiwan Strait, and this is the firm and clear policy of the Chinese government and strong aspiration of the Chinese people [referring to both the population of China and Taiwan].” But while the CCP frequently claims China and Taiwan share “Chinese” identities, a recent polls shows views towards unification are at record lows and that only three percent of the island’s population identifies as primarily Chinese.
CCP Claim #3: DPP is Instigating Cross-Strait Tensions, Not China
The CCP also continues to falsely claim that it is the DPP that is instigating tensions, not China. The DPP harbors a “hostile and separatist policy towards the Chinese mainland,” according to Global Times, and is “secessionist-minded,” according to China Daily. Similarly, newly elected president Lai Ching-te is “notorious for his separatist stance,” according to Global Times, a “staunch secessionist” according to China Daily, and “…has never been compromising, but [is] extremely conservative and stubborn,” according to another Global Times article.
According to a CCP spokesman at the Chinese embassy in the United Kingdom: “The DPP authorities, clinging to a separatist stance, have colluded with external forces in successive provocative actions designed to divide the country. They [are]…deceiving the people of Taiwan and inciting hostility against the mainland….” According to a Chinese commentator on affairs with Taiwan, “If the DPP remains in power, it will undoubtedly severely impact cross-Straits economic and trade cooperation,” according to Global Times. Other analysts in that same article argued that the politics of the DPP, by interfering in cross-Straits trade, would cause Taiwan’s economy to shrink.
CCP Claim #4: China Can Work with All “Relevant Political Parties”
In a further attempt to undermine the DPP and genuine peace talks, the CCP states that it is willing to work with what it labels “relevant political parties,” that is, not the DPP. China Daily refers to Taiwan’s Kuomintang party as the “Chinese Kuomintang party,” while Global Times makes a strange and muddled argument that increased seats won by the KMT and the TPP “are a reflection by the Taiwan people on the fact that over the years the DPP’s absolute power has led to absolute corruption and abuse of power.”
Despite the DPP’s realistic views towards a belligerent China, president-elect Lai and current president Tsai Ing-wen have stated many times that they are willing to engage China diplomatically based on mutual respect. China, unsurprisingly, refuses to accept Taiwan’s olive branch of peace, instead choosing to once again wage a toxic propaganda campaign against the island. Only time will tell if China escalates the conflict that it has created.
