China spends over NT$10 billion to cultivate pro-China supporters in Taiwan: report

The target audience of the campaign includes young students, village officers, indigenous groups, etc.

Taiwan News 
Date: 2018/01/15
By: Sophia Yang, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – Beijing is said to have spent NT$10 billion (US$330 million) a year to engage with certain groups of Taiwanese people in an attempt to realign their identities with economic or cultural incentives and to expand its sphere of influence.

People familiar with the matter told the Liberty Times that the targeted groups include village officers, young students, Chinese spouses, indigenous groups, China-friendly political parties, religious groups or temples, clansmen associations, farmer and fisherman’s associations, retired military officers and so on in Taiwan. Beijing was said to have tried to leave them with a good impression and turn them into pro-China supporters.

More than NT$10 billion was reportedly budgeted for projects promoting non-official exchanges and visits to reach that end. Also, some employees of the Taiwan-based Chinese economic and trade associations or corporations are said to have worked on politically motivated projects assigned by Beijing.   [FULL  STORY]