China reportedly sponsored affordable trips to the country for hundreds of Taiwanese politicians ahead of Taiwan's general elections on January 13, 2024.
According to Taiwanese sources and documents obtained by Reuters for its exclusive report, officials were unnerved by the broad campaign, with one of them calling Beijing's move an "election interference."
Outgoing Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen and other Taiwanese officials have warned that Communist China might try to sway voters toward candidates seeking closer ties with Beijing in the elections, which could define the island's relations with China in the next few years.
However, the scale of Chinese activity for this purpose has not been reported previously.
A general view shows light projections at Taiwan's Presidential Palace in Taipei on October 5, 2021, during a ceremony to celebrate National Day on October 10.
China's Subterfuge Operation
Ever since the People's Republic of China was established in 1949, it has claimed Taiwan - an island controlled by the much older Republic of China that once controlled the mainland - as its own and has increased its military and political pressure to force the island to accept its sovereignty.
Beijing has since framed Taiwan's 2024 presidential and general elections as a choice between "peace and war," calling the ruling party dangerous separatists and urging the Taiwanese people to make the "right choice."
Taiwanese law forbade election campaigns from receiving money from "external hostile forces," including China, and prosecutors in the southern Taiwanese city of Kaohsiung said this week that they have been investigating 22 individuals, including grassroots politicians, for potential violations of election and security laws.
Prosecutors added that they believed at least the five trips from there were fully funded by China's Taiwan Affairs Office.
In a statement, the prosecutors said that Chinese officials allegedly asked participants to support certain political parties and "oppose Taiwan independence."
"There is no such thing as a free lunch," Prosecutor-General Hsing Tai-chao said on Thursday (November 30). He added that external forces were trying to influence citizens in an "unprecedented fashion" and urged Taiwanese not to accept perks or instructions from Chinese authorities when traveling there.
Read Also: Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen Says China Won't Start War as Beijing Faces Internal Challenges
Taipei Investigates Trips to China
A Taiwanese security official involved in investigating China's activities told Reuters, on the condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the matter, that security agencies across the democratic island nation were looking into more than 400 visits to China in the past month, most of them led by local opinion leaders, such as community chiefs and village heads.
The anonymous official added that the agencies believe that the trips were subsidized by units under the Taiwan Affairs Office. The travel packages include discounted accommodations, transportation, and meals.
While the Chinese office in question did not respond to requests or comment, it has previously said it respected Taipei's "social systems" when commenting on the elections.
On the other hand, Taiwan's Mainland Affairs Council minister Chiu Tai-san said in an earlier statement that it was "self-evident" that Beijing was trying to sway Taiwanese elections through means including free trips for politicians.
"They have already made it clear that a so-called 'right choice' has to be made, meaning choosing candidates that the Chinese Communist Party prefers," he told reporters without elaborating further.
Taiwanese Security Official: China's Tour Packages 'Election Interference'
Meanwhile, another Taiwanese security official told Reuters that people taking trips to China typically pay for their own airfare, but other expenses were offered by Chinese authorities.
"Election interference has started under the name of group tours," the official said, adding that Beijing was targeting politicians crucial to the island's administrative systems who play key roles in shaping public opinion, as well as those whose electoral districts have strong support for candidates campaigning for closer China ties.
The official further noted that over 300 community leaders from populous central Taiwan alone have participated in such trips to China in the past few months.
In total, over 1,000 community leaders have joined such trips so far this year, which was more than last year, the official added.
However, building criminal cases against trip-takers was challenging because it could be hard to establish a money trail to Chinese state agencies behind the tours, which often came much below market rate, as well as to establish what was said during meetings with Chinese officials.
Taiwan has suspended group tours to China via travel agencies since the COVID-19 pandemic, but individuals visiting the mainland could still do so.
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