{"id":1506,"date":"2026-06-08T15:38:46","date_gmt":"2026-06-08T15:38:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/homebuyerrelocation.com\/?p=1506"},"modified":"2026-06-08T15:38:46","modified_gmt":"2026-06-08T15:38:46","slug":"is-beijing-winning-the-taiwan-narrative-war","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/homebuyerrelocation.com\/?p=1506","title":{"rendered":"Is Beijing winning the Taiwan narrative war?"},"content":{"rendered":"
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A version of this story appeared in the daily Threat Status newsletter from The Washington Times.
\n Click here to receive Threat Status delivered directly to your inbox each weekday.<\/em><\/p>\n

Read more Spoiler alert: New Spielberg movie \u2018Disclosure Day\u2019 follows up on \u2018Close Encounters\u2019<\/a><\/p>\n

\n

OPINION:<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Chinese Communist Party recently achieved a series of propaganda and narrative victories in its relations with Taiwan, the United States and the rest of the free world.<\/p>\n

In April, a Taiwanese opposition leader flew to Beijing and bent the knee to CCP General Secretary Xi Jinping, signaling subservience.<\/p>\n

This preceded the passage of an underwhelming defense budget by Taiwan\u2019s Legislative Yuan after months of contention, as well as President Trump\u2019s visit to Beijing last month. During that summit, U.S. leadership appeared to be eager to revive relations with the CCP.<\/p>\n

Further emboldening Beijing, Washington appears to have stalled weapons sales to Taiwan.<\/p>\n

With Chinese military and psychological pressure at record levels and the Trump-Xi summit now concluded, the questions at the heart of the debate go far beyond budget numbers and the optics of meetings.<\/p>\n

How committed is Taiwan to its own defense? How reliable is the U.S. as Taiwan\u2019s key ally? And who is shaping the answers to those questions in the minds of ordinary Taiwanese?<\/p>\n

Even though the U.S.-China meeting produced no formal policy shift on Taiwan, Mr. Xi got what he wanted: the chance to shape the conversation about Taiwan\u2019s future.<\/p>\n

Beijing has been watching Taiwan\u2019s democratic process closely, using proxies among politicians and media to nudge public opinion toward closer relationships with the mainland.<\/p>\n

The opposition blocked the defense budget for months, and Kuomintang (KMT) Chair Cheng Li-wun\u2019s visit to Beijing right before the Trump-Xi summit was framed by both Beijing and the opposition as \u201cfostering peace.\u201d<\/p>\n

The message to Washington was clear: Beijing has leverage over the parliament, and Mr. Xi wants the U.S. to believe that Taiwanese public opinion is on his side.<\/p>\n

Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te\u2019s administration initially proposed a budget of $39.8 billion to $40 billion, but the opposition KMT and Taiwan People\u2019s Party\u00a0blocked it, proposing a far-smaller alternative of just $12 billion.<\/p>\n

Their stated justifications: They did not want to provoke China or spend more on U.S. equipment, deliveries of which have been delayed in the past.<\/p>\n

Read more Pro-Democrat group sues to halt UFC fight on White House lawn on Trump\u2019s birthday<\/a><\/p>\n

After months of heated debate \u2014 some of which erupted into brawls on the floor of the Legislative Yuan \u2014 the passed bill landed at $24.8 billion. It is the largest special defense budget in Taiwan\u2019s history, funding critical air defense upgrades and ammunition stockpiling, but it still falls short of Mr. Lai\u2019s original plan, which included boosting the domestic drone industry and developing full asymmetric capability.<\/p>\n

The State Department\u2019s reaction to the passed budget said it all: \u201cFurther delays in funding the remaining proposed capabilities are a confession to the Chinese Communist Party.\u201d<\/p>\n

The opposition\u2019s claims that the U.S. is not delivering equipment are exaggerated. The delivery backlog is real, but its causes are well documented: COVID-19 supply chain disruptions, the war in Ukraine and surging demand from the Middle East. Not American unreliability or unwillingness to arm Taiwan.<\/p>\n

Ms. Cheng\u2019s visit to Beijing was also focused on the 1992 Consensus, the long-standing basis of KMT-CCP relations. Both Mr. Xi and Ms. Cheng attempted to reframe it, shifting its basis from \u201cOne China\u201d to \u201copposing Taiwan\u2019s independence\u201d \u2014 a significant concession that was never part of the original framework.<\/p>\n

Beijing\u2019s narrative warfare runs on multiple fronts, misrepresenting the Aug. 17, 1982, U.S.-China Communique to portray American arms sales as illegitimate and misusing United Nations Resolution 2758 to deny Taiwan\u2019s international participation.<\/p>\n

Inside Taiwan, the battle is being fought through media and online influencers, with pro-China narratives steadily eroding public trust in the U.S.<\/p>\n

Yimeilun, or \u201cAmeriskepticism\u201d \u2014 the belief that the US is purely self-interested and would abandon Taiwan if China invades \u2014 is rising in Taiwan.<\/p>\n

The current defense budget will not meet Taiwan\u2019s security needs. Years of narrative warfare have eroded public trust, weakened the public will to invest in defense and allowed Beijing to deepen its foothold inside Taiwan\u2019s democratic process.<\/p>\n

The lessons of history are clear: Mixed signals and perceived lack of willpower invite aggression, which could have truly disastrous consequences for Taiwan and the world.<\/p>\n

Washington must overhaul its narrative efforts to revitalize Taiwanese morale and make clear to the mandarins in Beijing that Taiwan is absolutely worth defending.<\/p>\n

\u2022 Stan Kwiatkowski is a political commentator and host of the YouTube channels \u201cHard News\u201d and \u201cFreedom Is Not Free.\u201d He has lived in Taiwan for more than nine years.<\/em><\/p>\n

Read more Nonprofits shouldn\u2019t have to rely on Supreme Court protection<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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