China's Legal Information Warfare to Divide Taiwan and Hong Kong

Last week, media reports revealed that Meng-Chu Li and Ming-Che Li were both sentenced to an additional two years of "deprivation of political rights," yet Ming-Che Li was able to return to Taiwan while Meng-Chu Li was not. This is a classic divide-and-conquer operation by the Chinese government, utilizing contradictory legal information with the objective of making the Taiwanese public distrust the government's ability to handle legal affairs involving China.

Another instance involves the use of the internet to spread erroneous legal information. The "Amendment to the Regulations Governing Permits for Hong Kong and Macao Residents Entering and Residing or Settling in the Taiwan Area," originally scheduled for public announcement on May 1st, was unexpectedly suspended from implementation following questioning by multiple Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) legislators, severely damaging the trust of Hong Kong people in the Taiwan government.

The 2019 "Anti-Extradition Law Amendment Bill" movement in Hong Kong bankrupted the united front appeal of "one country, two systems" in Taiwan, and Taiwan has also become an important backing for Hong Kong's ongoing resistance. Consequently, dividing Taiwan-Hong Kong cooperation has become an urgent priority for China. Internet expert I-chin Tu pointed out that over the past two years, Hong Kong's protests have been unceasing, with pro-democracy activists and media reporters being arrested and sentenced day after day; yet, their visibility and volume on Facebook have dwindled significantly, likely due to the influence exerted by China's information warfare.

Aside from blocking Taiwan's reception of information from Hong Kong, an online petition launched in March calling for the "Repeal of the Act Governing Relations with Hong Kong and Macao" also raised suspicions. The petition wrapped erroneous legal information in national security rhetoric, making sweeping generalizations to demand that all Hong Kong people be treated as Chinese citizens without differential treatment. Subsequently, the offices of several DPP legislators successively received a massive volume of phone complaints, allowing skepticism and wariness toward Hong Kong people to ferment from the internet into the physical world, ultimately affecting the implementation of established policies.

Whether concerning the Meng-Chu Li case or the regulations on settling for Hong Kong and Macao residents, these were originally legal issues open to full public discussion. Without vigilance, however, they can easily become tools for China's information warfare. Over the past nine years, Taiwan has been the country most frequently harassed by foreign disinformation. Taiwanese society must remain vigilant regarding the sources and accuracy of all information. When discussing legal issues, particular attention must be paid to specific regulations and practical operations, avoiding blindly following the crowd. The consistent goal of China's information warfare is to divide Taiwan, and the ruling authorities must attach greater importance to guarding against it to prevent adversaries from exploiting vulnerabilities.