DPP warns against 'cognitive warfare' over U.S. tariff deal

Taipei, Jan. 18 (CNA) The ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) urged the public on Sunday to remain vigilant against what it described as "cognitive warfare" relating to Taiwan's recent agreement with the United States to lower tariffs on Taiwanese goods to 15 percent.

The DPP's China Affairs Department said in a Facebook post that it had observed rapid and widespread reactions to the trade deal circulating on social media, including claims such as "the cost of the deal is a US$500 billion investment in the United States," "it provokes China," "the U.S. is hollowing out Taiwan," and "the government is selling out Taiwan in exchange for U.S. protection."

The department said that these claims are counterfactual and deliberately inflammatory, aimed at causing public anxiety and anger, describing them as a typical tactic of cognitive warfare.

In the face of increasingly digitalized, automated and transnational information warfare, the DPP said the public must remain vigilant, learn to identify cognitive warfare tactics and strengthen what it called "cognitive immunity," in order to neutralize misinformation that harms Taiwanese society.

The party added that the trade deal has been widely praised as beneficial to Taiwan by the Chinese National Federation of Industries, professionals in the technology and machine tool sectors, and financial experts.

After months of talks, the United States agreed on Thursday (U.S. time) to cut tariffs on Taiwanese goods from 20 percent to 15 percent, without stacking them on existing most-favored-nation (MFN) rates. Meanwhile, Taiwanese semiconductor, electronics manufacturing services (EMS), artificial intelligence (AI), and energy companies will invest US$250 billion in the United States under their own business plans.

Taiwan’s government has pledged to provide up to US$250 billion in credit guarantees to financial institutions to support investments in the U.S. market by the semiconductor and information and communications technology (ICT) sectors.