TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — President Lai Ching-te (賴清德) warned Wednesday that the CCP is already interfering in the upcoming Kaohsiung mayoral election, citing recent reports about the CCP’s annual Beidaihe meeting.
National security officials told Liberty Times that the CCP has issued four directives concerning its Taiwan policy: opposing Taiwan’s military and drone spending, restricting Taiwan’s international space, mobilizing forces within Taiwan to oppose independence and support unification, and supporting “patriotic forces” in Taiwan ahead of the upcoming local elections.
The Beidaihe meeting is an unofficial annual gathering mainly attended by members of the CCP’s Politburo. The meeting reportedly included experts from a range of academic fields this year.
Citing the report, Lai said the CCP had identified the upcoming elections as an indicator of its work on Taiwan, putting Kaohsiung under particular pressure, per Z.Media. He said the CCP had already interfered in the mayoral race and described a recent poll showing DPP Kaohsiung mayoral candidate Lai Jui-lung (賴瑞隆) narrowly leading KMT candidate Ko Chih-en (柯志恩) as fake.
Lai Ching-te said the upcoming mayoral election could determine the future of both Kaohsiung and Taiwan.
Ko called on the government to investigate Lai’s claim of CCP electoral interference or stop making the allegation if there is insufficient evidence to support an investigation, per NOWNews. She also rejected Lai’s characterization of the recent survey as fake, saying it was conducted by a reputable pollster.
Ko also pointed to Lai Jui-lung’s time at the Kaohsiung City Government Department of Tourism, saying he had proposed establishing direct flights to Beijing. Lai Jui-lung rejected the characterization, saying Ko was conflating cross-strait exchanges with election interference, per FTV.
DPP Legislator Fan Yun (范雲) said Lai Ching-te was seeking to remind the public that CCP interference in Taiwan’s elections had become increasingly widespread, per ETtoday. She urged KMT candidates not to interpret Lai’s remarks as targeting any particular candidate.
KMT Legislator Hsu Yu-chen (許宇甄) said President Lai’s warning about Chinese interference could indicate that the DPP lacked confidence in Lai Jui-lung, per UDN. She accused Lai Ching-te of diverting attention from what she described as long-standing problems with DPP governance.
TPP Legislative Caucus Convener Chen Ching-lung (陳清龍) said linking political opponents to the CCP would not win public support. Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) urged Lai Ching-te to focus instead on the ongoing tainted cooking oil scandal, per Liberty Times.
