Taiwan says China has ‘very diverse’ ways of interfering in elections.

On Wednesday, a top Taiwanese security official claimed that China had “very diverse” methods for meddling in Taiwan’s next elections, including military coercion, the transmission of false information, and the manipulation of opinion surveys.

Taiwan often warns Beijing, which claims the democratically run island as its own, about the possibility of meddling in elections. Taiwan alleges China wants to influence the results in favor of candidates more friendly to the nation.

During a parliamentary committee meeting, the Director-General of the Taiwan National Security Bureau, Tsai Ming-yen, said, “The Chinese Communists interfere in elections in a very diverse fashion.

According to Tsai, China may provide a false option between “war or peace” in the election to intimidate people via military pressure, economic coercion, or fake news.

He said without mentioning any specific businesses, “We are paying special attention to the Chinese Communists cooperating with opinion poll and public relations companies for the possibility of manipulating opinion polls and issuing them to interfere in the elections.”

Calls to China’s Taiwan Affairs Office for comment went unanswered. China is now taking a weeklong vacation for National Day.

According to surveys, William Lai, vice president of Taiwan’s government and supporter of the island’s distinct identity from China, is the front-runner to succeed Ma.

Lai and his party have offered to engage, but China has consistently refused them because it views them as separatists. Lai asserts that only the people of Taiwan have the power to determine their destiny and that he does not aim to alter the status quo beyond the Taiwan Strait.

Since the election of 2020, China has escalated its military activity surrounding Taiwan and frequently dispatches warships and aircraft to the waters and skies close to the island.

Tsai said that the most recent Chinese maneuvers, which began last month and were dubbed “abnormal” by Taiwan’s defense minister, were almost identical to those from prior years regarding their primary objectives, such as landing drills.

However, this time, more planes and ships were participating, and the People’s Liberation Army Rocket Force (PLARF), which is in charge of China’s conventional and nuclear missiles, conducted more practice firings.

Tsai said that this may be connected to Chinese President Xi Jinping’s efforts to establish control over the PLARF, a section of the Chinese military that has drawn attention since its two most senior officials were abruptly replaced with foreign commanders at the end of July.

Requests for a response from the Chinese defense ministry also went unanswered.