China’s aggression against Taiwan is a key step in a broader play to shift the balance of power away from the US and increase China’s regional hegemony, boosting its trans-Pacific influence. China’s priority on regional influence explains the emphasis on information dominance (propaganda, misinformation, and disinformation) which plays a central role in China’s ability to divide and conquer adversaries. If China can persuade voters to promote isolationism, withdraw from alliances, reduce foreign military aid, or otherwise reject the US’s role in the international rule of law, China will be essentially unchallenged when it attempts to annex territory or impose regulations on international waters.
China employs a range of tactics, both overt and covert, to exert influence through various actors such as the United Front Work Department (UFWD), the People's Liberation Army's (PLA) Political Work Department, and State-controlled media organs including Xinhua News Agency and PLA Daily. China also leverages social media platforms, content farms (“netizens" and the "50-Cent Army"), and popular apps like LINE, TikTok, Facebook, and YouTube to promote the coordinated "America Skepticism Theory," arguing that the U.S. uses Taiwan as a pawn against China and will ultimately abandon it in a conflict. Sources cite examples like the 2021 Afghanistan withdrawal as evidence of American unreliability, reinforcing distrust between Taiwan and the United States. China is also particularly concerned about Taiwan’s democracy as it challenges China’s claim that the central CCP system is both necessary and justified. Consequently, Chinese propaganda often claims Tawianese elections are fraudulent and CCP has at times sponsored pro-CCP protests who violently attack pro-democracy demonstrators (as occurred during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Summit in San Francisco in November 2023). 1
EdgeTheory briefs identify these themes and coordinated influence operations in real-time. Explore the sources promoting FMI narratives, where they are based, and who is being targeted in our intelligence brief on Taiwan.
