Beijing’s top spy agency accuses Taiwan of pushing ‘election interference’ rumours, vows to fight separatism

Ministry of State Security says victory of independence-leaning presidential candidate William Lai cannot ‘stop the trend of reunification’
It says it will carry out counter-subversion and anti-espionage campaigns targeting the island

Taiwan election 2024

Phoebe Zhang

Published: 6:00pm, 17 Jan 2024

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Beijing’s top anti-espionage agency accused its Taiwanese counterpart of hyping up “election interference” rumours ahead of the island’s presidential and legislative polls over the weekend and pledged to take action against “Taiwan independence”.

The Ministry of State Security said on WeChat on Wednesday that Saturday’s election, which saw independence-leaning candidate William Lai Ching-te elected as Taiwan’s next president, “does not change the common wish of people across the [Taiwan Strait] to be closer, nor can it stop the trend of reunification”.

“Under the guidance of the party … the ministry will insist on combating ‘Taiwan independence’ separatist activities and interference from external forces, defend national sovereignty, security and development interests, and resolutely promote the great cause of the reunification,” it said.

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The WeChat article mentioned some cases it said were related to “separatist forces”. For example, in August 2022, the state security apparatus of the city of Wenzhou in Zhejiang province detained Yang Zhi-yuan, a suspected Taiwanese separatist on the mainland – one of several actions Beijing took in response to then-US House speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to the island. Yang was indicted in April of last year, according to mainland authorities, who have not provided updates on his case since.

Wednesday’s warning came just four days after Taiwanese voters elected Lai as the island’s next president, making the ruling Democratic Progressive Party the first to win a third four-year term since Taiwan had its first free election more than three decades ago. Beijing has accused Lai of being a “Taiwan separatist”.

Immediately after the elections, mainland Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said Taiwan’s election results could not change the “basic fact” that there was only one China and that Taiwan was part of it, according to a statement released on Monday by the Chinese embassy in Washington.

No change after Taiwan election to ‘basic fact’ there is only one China: Wang Yi

The People’s Liberation Army has refrained from an immediate strong response following Lai’s victory. On Wednesday morning, Taiwan’s defence ministry reported nine sorties of PLA warplanes had been spotted near the island in the previous 24 hours, which was around the normal level.

Wednesday’s MSS article also accused Taiwan’s intelligence agency of infiltrating mainland China since the Democratic Progressive Party came to power in 2016. The ministry said it organised campaigns in 2018 and 2020, during which it caught Taiwanese spies, cracked hundreds of cases and dismantled multiple espionage networks deployed by Taipei against Beijing.

The ministry said that before the election, Taiwan’s intelligence and security agency acted as “thugs for ‘Taiwan independence’ separatist forces”, hyped up rumours about “the mainland interfering in Taiwan’s elections”, suppressed politicians and ordinary people and colluded with external forces. The MSS vowed to carry out in-depth counter-subversion, counter-espionage and counter-separatist campaigns.

04:31

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Also on Wednesday, Beijing’s State Council Taiwan Affairs Office said in a press conference that it would insist on reunification and communication across the strait.

“We hope that our compatriots in Taiwan will stand firmly on the right side of history and work with us to eliminate interference and jointly promote the peaceful and integrated development of cross-strait relations,” said TAO spokesman Chen Binhua.

Beijing sees Taiwan as part of China to be reunited by force if necessary. Most countries, including the US, do not recognise Taiwan as an independent state, but Washington is opposed to any attempt to take the self-governed island by force and is committed to arming Taiwan.