Taipei, May 26 (IANS) Taiwan’s National Security Bureau (NSB) Director-General Tsai Ming-yen has said that the agency has identified nearly 100 suspicious account groups which shared over 9,000 divisive messages on social media after the meeting between US President Donald and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping in Beijing during former’s State Visit to China earlier this month, local media reported on Tuesday.
In his remarks at a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defence Committee, Tsai Ming-yen said that Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) latest cognitive warfare pushed the narrative that reunification would bring peace and voiced skepticism about US’ support for Taiwan. During the meeting, he spoke about the effect of Trump-Xi meeting on Taiwan’s diplomacy and national security, Taiwan-based Taipei Times reported.
Tsai said that suspicious accounts did not have normal friend connections or mutual followers and shared posts at set times, echoing CCP’s media narratives. He stated that bureau after seeing the posts informed several agencies so that they could issue clarification and reported the issue to Taiwanese President William Lai on May 17.
Tsai Ming-yen said that, after Trump-Xi meeting, the US Department of State stated that there is no change in Washington’s policy on Taiwan and its arms sales to Taipei, which he said helped to dismiss various claims that surfaced on social media claiming that the US would leave Taiwan in a crisis, Taipei Times reported.
Trump was on a State Visit to China earlier this month. After concluding his visit, Trump, in an interview with Fox News, stated that he wants China and Taiwan to cool down.
When asked whether the people of Taiwan should feel more or less secure following his meeting with Xi, Trump said, “Neutral. This has been going on for years,” stressing that US policy about Taiwan has not changed.
“Nothing’s changed. I will say this: I’m not looking to have somebody go independent. And, you know, we’re supposed to travel 9,500 miles to fight a war. I’m not looking for that. I want them to cool down. I want China to cool down,” Trump told Fox News.
China maintains that Taiwan is a part of its territory and needs to be reunified with the mainland, by force if necessary. Despite China’s efforts, Taiwan, backed by strong public support, continues to assert its sovereignty and responds to China’s incursions.
During his talks with Trump in Beijing, Xi Jinping said that the US-China ties will have overall stability if the Taiwan issue is handled properly.
The statement released by Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs said, “President Xi stressed that the Taiwan question is the most important issue in China-US relations. If it is handled properly, the bilateral relationship will enjoy overall stability. Otherwise, the two countries will have clashes and even conflicts, putting the entire relationship in great jeopardy. ‘Taiwan independence’ and cross-Strait peace are as irreconcilable as fire and water.”
During the meeting, Xi termed safeguarding peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait “the biggest common denominator between China and the US.” He stated that the US side must exercise extra caution in handling the Taiwan issue.
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