China‘s Ministry of State Security, Guanbu, “was closely involved with the recent rapprochement between Taiwan‘s two parties open to dialogue with Beijing,” Intelligence Online reported on 22 November 2023.
Context: In November 2023, the two main Taiwanese opposition parties, KMT and TPP, attempted to put forward a joint ticket for the January 2024 presidential election in order to improve the chances of defeating the ruling DPP party. The attempt fell apart, the two opposition parties took part in the election separately, and DPP’s candidate Lai Ching-te became the president of Taiwan. KMT and TPP are both seen to have a softer stance vis-a-vis China than DPP.
While Taiwan’s unification with China without a military conquest is extremely unlikely irrespective of who is in power on the island, Beijing might perceive that a Taiwanese administration other than DPP could result in relatively lower level of military cooperation with the US and less robust Taiwanese preparation for the coming war, which would leave Taiwan less ready when the Chinese invasion comes.
Efforts Category: China’s Political Subversion vs Taiwan
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