Taiwan's embassy in Tuvalu blasts Beijing over 'disinformation'

Sydney, Jan. 15 (CNA) Taiwan's embassy in Tuvalu has accused China of engaging in a "disinformation" campaign to sabotage diplomatic ties with the Pacific ally after a Chinese government-funded news site showed clips of Tuvaluans backing a switch in allegiance to Beijing.

The embassy objected specifically to two videos of Tuvaluan people voicing Beijing talking points released recently by China Global Television Network (CGTN), a branch of the state-run China Media Group under the Chinese Communist Party's Central Propaganda Department.

Taiwan's embassy in Tuvalu said in a statement Wednesday that though it respected freedom of speech, it could not tolerate Beijing's disinformation campaign.

"We firmly oppose and condemn, while also remaining highly vigilant against, China's manipulation of disinformation to conduct cognitive warfare, aiming to undermine Taiwan-Tuvalu relations and weaken democratic values," the embassy said.

In one of the videos the embassy objected to released in December, titled "Tuvalu residents say Taiwan is part of China," a woman identified only as "Mary" criticized President Lai Ching-te's (賴清德) December visit to the Pacific ally.

"This visit does not bring any real economic or social impact to Tuvalu. He has not proposed any concrete aid projects or funding," Mary said in the clip.

Another male resident identified only as "Thomas" was shown voicing a common Chinese refrain that according to United Nations Resolution 2758, "Taiwan is a part of China, which is a widely recognized international consensus."

"Establishing diplomatic relations with China could offer real development opportunities, such as infrastructure building and enhanced climate resilience," he also said.

Another CGTN video titled "Tuvaluan student's life inspired by Chinese culture" released in January featured a woman identified as Tuvaluan student Lilly Rose.

Rose said China has played a significant role in infrastructure projects in the Pacific and that Chinese technology has greatly helped island countries like Tuvalu to tackle climate change.

Lai visited Tuvalu in December as part of his seven-day trip that also took him to two other Taiwan allies in the region, the Marshall Islands and Palau, as well as stopovers in Hawaii and Guam.

While in Tuvalu, Lai and Tuvaluan Prime Minister Feleti Teo signed a joint communique pledging to deepen bilateral ties to mark the 45th anniversary of formal diplomatic ties, which were established in 1979.

In addition to the joint communiqué, Taiwan and Tuvalu also signed a letter of intent (LOI) to formalize Taiwan's commitment to supporting the construction of a subsea cable connected to the Pacific nation.