Brace for More Disinformation and Coercion From Beijing, Taiwan Envoy Warns

Taiwan’s diplomatic representative to Australia says Beijing will continue its coercion tactics to force governments, including newly-elected Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te (William Lai), to tow a more favourable policy line towards the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), which views the democratic island as its territory. His comments were followed by Mark Harrison, professor of Chinese studies at the University of Tasmania, who said publicly talking about the Taiwan issue in Australia was already considered highly sensitive in some quarters, given the fear of offending the CCP leadership. During an event hosted by the Griffith Asia Institute and the Australian Institute of International Affairs, Douglas Hsu, the head of Canberra’s Taipei Economic and Cultural Office (TECO), pointed to the actions of the CCP following the national elections in Taiwan where the governing Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) retained the presidency....