China still set on sowing division, MAC report says

China is continuing to use “gray zone” tactics to cause social division in Taiwan and alter the “status quo” in the Taiwan Strait, a report commissioned by the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) found.

The council said the academic report it commissioned to analyze the state of Taiwan-China-US relations found that China is continuing to use legal loopholes, psychological warfare and “gray zone” tactics in an attempt to change public opinion in Taiwan and alter the “status quo” across the Taiwan Strait.

At the same time, the US is promoting trade and military exchanges with Taiwan, managing competition risks with China and boosting integration with Indo-Pacific allies to deter China, it said, citing the report.

Following Vice President William Lai’s (賴清德) win in the presidential election in January, China poached former Taiwan ally Nauru, used unregistered boats on numerous occasions to make incursions into Taiwan’s waters, and unilaterally changed the flight path of route M503 to bring it closer to the median line of the Taiwan Strait, the council said, adding that these actions were intended to alter public sentiment in Taiwan.

“Even after the large earthquake that struck Hualien on April 3 China flew military aircraft into airspace near Taiwan,” it said.

At the same time as it shows aggression toward Taiwan, Beijing invites opposition-party politicians to China for discussions in a bid to find Taiwanese to endorse its Taiwan strategy, the council said.

When Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) met former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) on April 10, Xi spoke in a soft tone — something he has rarely done recently — while emphasizing national integration and cross-strait exchanges, the council said.

While Beijing continues to suppress Taiwan diplomatically, it also uses economic tactics such as tariffs and trade barriers that affect Taiwan’s exports, it said.

These actions combined with frequent “gray zone” incursions using fishing boats and civilian aircraft also challenge the US’ response measures, and repeatedly test Taiwan’s jurisdiction and legal discourse, the council said.

“China has sent a very clear signal, which is that it aims to encourage more Taiwanese to support its vision of integration and to promote a process of so-called peaceful reunification,” it said.

Anyone who is willing to agree with Beijing’s “one China” principle would be rewarded through exchanges with China, it said.

“China has no desire to improve relations with Taiwan’s ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP),” the council said “It is likely that China will continue to create problems for the DPP in a bid to continue sowing social division.”