Taiwan's crucial presidential and legislative elections end up falling under censorship from China's Great Firewall. Popular Mandarin social media platform Weibo, China's X, blocked hashtags related to the ongoing vote in Taipei after the topic became one of the top trending topics among netizens. “In accordance with relevant laws, regulations and guidelines, the content of this topic will not be displayed,” reads the message that now appears in searches for the hashtag “Taiwan elections,” for example, underscoring the sensitivity of the matter.
Taiwan's crucial vote will determine the direction of the island's relations with China as well as regional and even global stability amid increasingly fierce competition between Beijing and Washington.
In mainland China, whose leaders are watching the outcome closely after describing the vote as a choice between “war and peace,” the “Taiwan election” was among the top trending topics after polls began this morning on Weibo, with some posts reaching nearly half 170 million views. Some posts expressed hope that cross-strait relations would improve after the vote, while others called for the island to return to the “motherland” as quickly as possible, regardless of means.
However, the hashtag was removed mid-morning, although users continued to see some posts on the topic. China's main news platforms – including the three official state pillars of the Xinhua News Agency, the CCTV Network and the People's Daily – barely covered the vote on the “Taiwan Region of China.”
Taiwan, 8 jets and 6 Chinese military ships around the island
The Taipei Ministry of Defense reported detecting eight Chinese jets and six military ships around the island in the 24 hours ending at 6 p.m. local time (11 p.m. on Friday in Italy) ahead of the opening of over 18,000 polling stations in Taiwan today Parliamentary elections, the voting processes for which are underway.
In a statement, the ministry also said that an aircraft, a Y-8 ASW model, entered the Southwest Defense Space Zone (Adiz), prompting the Taiwanese armed forces to monitor the situation to best respond. the way events unfold.
China: “Australia must avoid mistakes on Taiwan or risk the abyss”
China has issued an extraordinary warning to Australia ahead of Taiwan's presidential election, saying any “miscalculations” in Canberra's relations with the rebellious island's next government would “drive the Australian people to the brink”.
Chinese Ambassador to Canberra, Xiao Qian, wrote this in an op-ed for The Australian, specifying that “maintaining national unity and territorial integrity are sacred rights of all sovereign states.” As the elections in the Taiwan region approach, “I notice that some people on the ground have misunderstandings about this issue” and that “what's worse, some are even spreading disinformation” and claiming that the Chinese central government “never really exercised control over Taiwan.” while others describe the relationship between Taiwan and the mainland as “democracy versus authoritarianism,” similar to the epic battle between good and evil described in the Bible. Still others vilify China for changing the status quo in the Taiwan Strait and endangering regional peace and stability.
“I would like to point out here that Taiwan is China's Taiwan, an inalienable part of China's territory, and this is the premise we must keep in mind when understanding the Taiwan issue,” Xiao concluded.
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