TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Scholars from Taiwan and several Central European countries at an online seminar on Wednesday (April 28) and shared their experiences of countering China’s dissemination of false information.
Co-organized by Taiwan’s Institute for National Policy Research and Hungarian think tank Political Capital, the meeting was titled “Chinese Disinformation in Europe, Taiwan and the World: Challenges and Perspectives.” It aimed to provide the audience with insights into the nature of pro-Beijing disinformation campaigns, discuss the impact these campaigns have on Taiwan and Europe, and find ways affected nations can counter Chinese disinformation.
Academics who shared their views on the problem included Yujen Kuo (郭育仁), executive director of the Institute for National Policy Research of Taiwan; Puma Shen (沈伯洋), chairman of the Doublethink Lab; Jakub Janda, director of the European Values Center for Security Policy; and Matej Simalcik, executive director of the Central European Institute of Asian Studies.
Kuo said highlighting America’s hegemonic mentality, vilifying Taiwan-U.S. military cooperation, accusing Taiwan of unilateral provocations, and emphasizing its ability take over Taiwan militarily are the primary facets of Beijing’s information warfare against Taipei. He cited the reports of Taiwanese pilots supposedly defecting to Xiamen last year as an example of Chinese disinformation.
Kuo said he believes the best strategy for countering information warfare is to take the initiative: "If the (enemy) is surreptitious, we will handle it in a public and transparent manner." In addition, he said it is also important for think tanks in various countries to share their experiences with each other.
In recent years, Europe has not only faced Russian but also Chinese information warfare, Simalcik said. He added that although there are some similarities between Russia’s and China’s false information campaigns in Europe, Beijing seeks to strengthen its narratives on Tibet, Taiwan, and Xinjiang, while Moscow simply wants to create chaos.
Simalcik pointed out that China has recently been a hot topic in the Czech Republic, and the public has gradually reached a consensus on the threat posed by the East Asian country. Meanwhile, he argued that there needs to be more discussion in Slovakia. He added that he believes Slovakian media should pay more attention to the security risks brought on by Beijing and raise public awareness of this issue.
As for China’s motives for spreading propaganda in Europe, Janda said that except for a few countries that are particularly friendly to Beijing, such as Hungary and Serbia, European states will not become Chinese vassals. Nevertheless, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) expects them to at least remain neutral in the Sino-U.S. confrontation.
Janda stated that Europe is afraid of economic retaliation, so it has remained fairly silent on the matter of Chinese spies infiltrating the region as well as China’s human rights violations. However, he mentioned that China actually needs Europe more than Europe needs China and that Europe should take a tougher stand against the CCP.
