Ma Chih-wei

Ma Chih-wei Case Sets Precedents for Cases of China Funding Political Candidates in Taiwan

Brian Hioe
The Taiwan High Court has sentenced Ma Chih-wei, formerly an independent legislative candidate, to two years and eight months in jail on charges of accepting Chinese funding for her election bid. The case could set a precedent for future rulings, when it comes to Taiwanese political candidates who accept funding from the CCP, as part of China’s United Front efforts in Taiwan...
Cross StraitEnglishInternationalOctober 2025Politics4 min read

KMT Puts Forward Controversial Legislator for Defense Committee, Former TPP Spokesperson Faces Prosecution

Brian Hioe
Former TPP spokesperson Ma Chih-wei faces charges over accepting funding from the Chinese government for an independent legislative run. Prosecutors recommended yesterday that Ma face three years and eight months in jail, as well as a two million NTD fine. This is a hefty fine and prison term for a country in which spying charges have historically been treated with lighter sentences than for cannabis charges...
EnglishMarch 2024Politics6 min read

KMT Leans Into Allegations that Missile Alert was Orchestrated by the DPP

Brian Hioe
The KMT has begun leaning into political attacks on the national text alert sent out by the Ministry of National Defense yesterday. These attacks have increasingly taken the tenor of alleging that the text message alert was not a mistake, in that the English wording of the alert referred to the satellite launch as a "missile" launch, but a fake incident entirely concocted by the DPP for the sake of elections. The KMT has focused attacks on this rather than criticizing the substance of the text message alert, which led to confusion, or the Tsai administration itself’s apparent confusion. The incident takes place mere days before the presidential election is to take place on Saturday...
EnglishJanuary 2023Politics8 min read

With Mere Days Before Elections, Missile Alert About Chinese Satellite Launch Leads to Confusion, Panic

Brian Hioe
A text message alert sounded this afternoon in Taiwan shortly after 3 PM, alerting that a rocket had been fired over Taiwan. What ensued, however, was significant confusion between the English and Chinese. The Chinese stated that a “satellite” had been fired over Taiwan by China. By contrast, the English stated that a “missile” had been fired over Taiwan...
Cross StraitEnglishInternationalJanuary 2023PoliticsRegional Tensions6 min read

“The Will of the Chinese People”: Beijing’s Narrative of Invading Taiwan

Kuang-shun Yang
For decades, Taiwan has lived under Beijing’s constant military threat of “reunification.” However, Taiwan is often portrayed by Chinese propagandists as a “troublemaker” capable of destabilizing the Indo-Pacific region or making China “upset about everything we [Taiwan] do, about our existence,” as Taiwan’s ex-ambassador to the United States Hsiao Bi-khim noted. Taiwan’s independence, be it a political appeal or an objective reality, is provocative to the CCP. The CCP’s mouthpieces have effectively convinced numerous international observers to discourage Taiwan’s quest for independence and characterized Taiwan’s autonomy as an affront to the Chinese people....
Cross StraitEnglishInternationalJanuary 20239 min read

TPP Seeks to Cut Ties with Former Spokesperson Over Chinese Funding

Brian Hioe
The TPP has found itself in hot water over Ma Chi-wei, a former party spokesperson who is now running as an independent legislative candidate, who was found to have received funds from the Chinese government to support her campaign. The funds were transferred through cryptocurrency, ironically enough, as the first major public incident in which the CCP has been found to distribute funds through cryptocurrency to candidates it backs in Taiwan...
EnglishJanuary 2023Politics5 min read