Investigators in Taiwan say they’ve discovered quite a lot of pretend Twitter accounts linked to China posting pretend apologies to World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, who has accused the democratic island of involvement in a sequence of non-public and racist assaults in opposition to him.

Investigators from the ministry of justice in Taiwan stated that they had uncovered an effort by Chinese netizens to exploit the controversy by falsely figuring out themselves as Taiwanese and issuing apologies to Tedros on-line, the island’s Central News Agency reported.

The posts appeared on pretend accounts made to imitate the account of Radio Free Asia, and included apology templates posted by an account calling itself “Radio Free Xuzhou.”

The messages represented “a grave threat to Taiwan’s international reputation,” the investigators advised a information convention in Taipei on Friday.

Tedros advised a information convention on Wednesday that he had been personally attacked, had suffered racist abuse, and had even obtained dying threats, a press release which no one appears to be disputing.

But the island’s authorities from the president down to the overseas ministry spokesmen and girls have stated the assaults had nothing to do with them.

“This attack came from Taiwan,” Tedros stated. “Taiwan, the foreign ministry also, they know the campaign. They did not dissociate themselves.”

Taiwan’s overseas ministry on Thursday known as on Tedros to retract and apologize for the remarks.

President Tsai Ing-wen in the meantime invited Tedros to go to Taiwan and “experience for himself” the nation’s dedication to worldwide engagement and public well being.



Diplomatic strain from Beijing

Taiwan, which has by no means shaped a part of the People’s Republic of China nor been dominated by the Chinese Communist Party, has nonetheless been denied membership in worldwide organizations beneath enormous diplomatic strain from Beijing, which claims the island as a part of its territory.

The island, which is a proper sovereign state beneath the 1911 Republic of China which fled to the island after shedding a civil conflict to Mao Zedong’s communists, has repeatedly known as on the WHO to permit it to take part as an observer.

But WHO advisers and officers have ignored the requests and refused to focus on the chance in public, responding that Taiwan is already taking part in an unofficial capability.

The WHO has additionally come beneath hearth through the coronavirus pandemic for pro-China bias, and for failing to maintain the statements of well being officers up to nearer scrutiny within the early phases of the epidemic within the central metropolis of Wuhan.

Information warfare

China isn’t any stranger to data warfare, having honed its methods final 12 months on the anti-extradition and pro-democracy motion in Hong Kong, in addition to the election marketing campaign on the democratic island of Taiwan.

Chinese overseas ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian stated China “strongly condemns the personal attacks and racist words and actions directed against Dr. Tedros.”

Zhao, who has been lauded by state media as a key determine in China’s on-line infowars, continued: “The DPP in Taiwan have continually speculated about Taiwan’s so-called participation in the WHO and the World Health Assembly since the epidemic began. Their purpose is to seek independence on the back of the epidemic.”

Zhao has not too long ago promoted the concept the coronavirus that causes COVID-19 did not originate in China in any respect, tweeting in March: “When did patient zero begin in US? How many people are infected? What are the names of the hospitals?.”

“It might be US army who brought the epidemic to Wuhan. Be transparent! Make public your data! US owe us an explanation!” he wrote, triggering a diplomatic spat between Beijing and Washington, which summoned Chinese ambassador Cui Tiankai for a proper protest.

China’s abroad propaganda offensive could be traced again to August 2013, when President Xi addressed the National Conference on Propaganda and Ideology, calling on officers and state-run media to “tell the China story well, and make sure China’s voice is heard.”

China’s diplomatic service then swung into motion in 2014, establishing social media accounts on Facebook and Twitter for its diplomatic missions world wide.

Social media, whereas blocked for abnormal folks again house, is now seen as a key plank in Xi’s drive to reshape China’s worldwide picture, and consultants say Beijing’s propaganda specialists have now turn out to be adept at concentrating on totally different audiences world wide.

Reported by Hwang Chun-mei for RFA’s Mandarin Service, and by the Cantonese Service. Translated and edited by Luisetta Mudie.