Brian Hioeby Brian Hioe
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Photo Credit: Chow Shing Wang SimonZA/WikiCommons/CC0
THE CHINESE GOVERNMENT has claimed that it assisted the return of 93 Taiwanese stranded in the Middle East after the outbreak of war there. This is a familiar narrative from the Chinese government, which often seeks to depict the Taiwanese government as inept and weak when it comes to natural disasters, geopolitical tensions, or other emergencies. In claiming to facilitate the return of Taiwanese home in a way that the Taiwanese government cannot, the Chinese government would also be seeking to project a sense of global influence.
Specifically, such claims revolve around the narrative that Taiwanese stranded in the Middle East, who were traveling as part of tour groups, sought help from the Chinese Consulate General in Istanbul. This occurred after their original flight from Abu Dhabi was canceled. Consequently, such travelers then purportedly flew to Istanbul and returned home to Taiwan through Shanghai.
China claims to have helped several groups of Taiwanese return home in two waves, first facilitating the return of a group of 19 and then a group of 74 individuals. Videos released by the Chinese government show apparent returnees thanking the “motherland” for its help.
The Taiwanese government has emphasized that it had taken swift action to help Taiwanese stranded in the Middle East, while criticizing China’s claims as cognitive warfare, and stating that it did not require China’s assistance. More than 2,000 Taiwanese in the Middle East have since been evacuated after the outbreak of hostilities.
This is not the first time that the Chinese government has claimed to assist Taiwanese–and then sought to make a PR stunt out of it. After the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Chinese government claimed that it would accept Taiwanese with China-issued documents. By contrast, the Taiwanese government stated that it had already evacuated Taiwanese via Poland and Slovakia.
After Typhoon Jebi hit the Kansai region of Japan in 2018, the Chinese government also claimed that Taiwanese diplomatic officials were unable to help stranded Taiwanese, but that China had been able to. Taiwanese diplomat Su Chii-cherng, the director of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Osaka, later committed suicide by hanging after the wave of online criticisms against him in the wake of the incident. Although it has also been alleged that an online influencer with links to the DPP spread rumors against Su, Su’s death has also been attributed to the impact of Chinese disinformation.
More generally, the Chinese government has sought to project that it already has sovereignty over Taiwan. For example, by way of what has been termed “long-arm” harassment, last year the Chinese government claimed to be investigating DPP legislator Puma Shen for crimes related to secession. China then claimed that it would arrest Shen through Interpol.
China likely has particular ire against Shen, given his expertise in researching Chinese disinformation and his founding of the civil defense organization Kuma Academy. Interpol has since stated that it will not arrest lawmakers on political charges. The Chinese government was likely hoping to come off as though there was an internationally recognized consensus that Taiwan is already part of China, such that it could arrest Taiwanese lawmakers.
So, too, then with Taiwanese nationals abroad–perhaps unsurprising when China claims that Taiwanese are Chinese. Apart from seeking to depict the Taiwanese government as unable to protect its citizens compared to China, China seeks to depict itself as already having de facto control of China in international spaces. This, too, is a part of the psychological warfare that China conducts against Taiwan.