 Taiwan rejects HK firm's skycraper bid over China 'security concerns' Taipei (AFP) June 27, 2019 - Taiwan has vetoed a $2 billion bid by a Hong Kong-led consortium to build a twin skyscraper in Taipei citing national security concerns, arguing the company is too heavily influenced by mainland China. Hong Kong-listed Nan Hai Corporation had successfully bid to build the "Taipei Twin Towers" along with Malaysian property developer Malton Berhad in a TW$60 billion deal that was billed as the city's biggest construction project in years. But on Wednesday Taiwan's Ministry of Economic Affairs blocked the project citing Nan Hai's links with China. "Nan Hai's close ties with China is a grave threat to (Taiwan's) national security if it were allowed to develop," Yang Shu-ling, spokesperson for the ministry Investment Commission, told AFP. Nan Hai Development Ltd in a written statement said it was baffled by the decision and that it is looking into legal recourse. "We believe it (the decision) is politically motivated," the statement said. The Investment Commission noted that half of Nan Hai's management and board of directors are Chinese nationals, adding it was concerned the company could be "influenced by mainland policies". The planned 76-storey site was particularly sensitive, Yang added, because it was located next to Taipei's main station and metro systems. "This involves the issue of national security because of its close proximity to greater Taipei's important transportation hub for metro, high speed rail, railway trains and buses," Yang added. Taiwan retains huge business links with China but relations between the two governments have frayed since the 2016 election of President Tsai Ing-wen who does not recognise Beijing's "One China" policy. Beijing has since cut off communication with her administration, ramped up military drills and poached some of Taiwan's dwindling allies. The island has been a self-ruled de facto nation in charge of its own affairs and borders for the last 70 years. But Beijing maintains Taiwan is part of its territory and has never given up its threat to retake it, by force if necessary. Tsai is seeking a second term at elections in January and is campaigning on a more Beijing sceptical ticket than her opponents, who favour better ties with the mainland. Taipei mayor Ko Wen-je, an independent, warned on Thursday that the decision might put off foreign investors. "This has broader implications" echoed Lin Tso-yu, land economics professor at Taipei's National Chengchi University. "The rules for investment should be more transparent and clear for investors to follow," Lin said.
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With a presidential election looming Taiwan is bracing for a deluge of fake news and disinformation -- much of it emanating from China and aimed at making sure Beijing's preferred party wins the day, analysts say.
Torrential rain did little to put off tens of thousands of people rallying in Taipei last Sunday against what they have dubbed the "red media".
The term is used to describe both legitimate news outlets and more opaque online sources that flood the democratic island with either pro-China coverage or outright disinformation.
"I don't want to see 'red forces' invading Taiwan to control the media and manipulate what people think, to fool the public," Alan Chang, a 30-year-old businessman attending the rally, told AFP.
Taiwan goes to the polls in January and the contest is set to be dominated by relations with China.
The island has been a self-ruled de facto nation in charge of its own affairs and borders for the last 70 years.
But Beijing maintains Taiwan is part of its territory and has never given up its threat to retake it, by force if necessary.
It has stopped communication with the government of President Tsai Ing-wen, who is seeking a second term, because she refuses to acknowledge the island is part of "one China", while ramping up military drills and poaching Taiwan's dwindling diplomatic allies.
Tsai's main challenger is the Kuomintang which favours much warmer ties with the Chinese mainland and is the party Beijing wants to see back in power.
- Fake rescue -
"The stakes for the 2020 elections are high, as they will determine Taiwan's future direction," J Michael Cole, a Taipei-based expert at the University of Nottingham's Taiwan Studies Programme, told AFP, adding fake news was already at "alarming levels".
"So (Beijing) will intensify its influence operations -- including fake news -- to increase the odds that someone other than Tsai is elected," he added.
One particularly egregious example that sparked criticism of the government was a widely shared, but patently false, report that China rescued Taiwanese tourists stranded in a Japanese airport during a typhoon.
Last week Tsai's office also asked police to investigate false claims on social media that her government had given US$32 million to finance huge anti-government rallies in Hong Kong.
Hu Yuan-hui, head of the Fact Checking Centre in Taipei, said the viral nature of disinformation is aided by many Taiwanese people using Chinese social media and messaging services.
"They (fake reports) tend to highlight the contrast between Taiwan and China to try to portray a chaotic Taiwan versus a strong China," he told AFP.
Last November, Tsai's party was hammered in local elections, largely due to a backlash over domestic reforms and a divisive push for gay marriage equality.
But analysts said there was also a surge in fake news items ahead of those polls.
- Media literacy -
A study by Wang Tai-li, a journalism professor at National Taiwan University, found 54 percent of people surveyed were unable to distinguish the fabricated report about Chinese evacuating people during the typhoon, which went viral ahead of the November vote.
"Disinformation campaigns were proven effective last year and they will be replicated in larger scale during the upcoming presidential election," Wang predicted.
Reporters Without Borders (RSF) said the false typhoon evacuation story originated on the Chinese mainland and was picked up by Taiwan's social and traditional media, in a "carefully coordinated and extremely effective disinformation campaign".
"Beijing has been targeting Taiwan with disinformation campaigns for decades... However, it is only recently that social networks have enabled these activities to have a viral impact," RSF said.
US officials have also said Taiwan is "on the frontlines" of China's disinformation campaigns.
"There is no question, at least in our minds, that China will try to meddle, they've done it in every previous election," Randall Schriver, US assistant defence secretary for Asian and Pacific security affairs, said last week.
Related Links
Taiwan News at SinoDaily.com
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