TAIPEI (TVBS News) — A Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Taipei City councilor raised concerns on Sunday (Nov. 26) regarding trips organized by local community leaders to China, suggesting they may be instances of "red infiltration."
DPP Councilor Chen Yi-chun expressed her worries on Facebook, sharing a poster advertising a "Wuxi Community Exchange Study" trip lasting six days and five nights.
Chen pointed out that this highly subsidized trip, priced at just NT＄15,000 for participants and covering flights, hospitality, and lodging, appeared to carry elements of "Chinese propaganda."
The itinerary included visits to historical towns, canal boat tours, a Belt and Road Initiative silk factory, and featured a guide from the National People's Congress Standing Committee of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) to explain the ambitious infrastructure project.
According to Chen, residents have approached her with concerns about potential organized red infiltration, as local leaders clandestinely organized groups and discreetly recruited like-minded community members to join the trip.
Chen questioned whether the CCP might be using such excursions to influence the votes of Taiwanese local residents ahead of Taiwan's 2024 Presidential Election.
Chen argued that in the lead-up to the major election, the CCP could be employing a comprehensive strategy, encompassing cognitive warfare and extensive propaganda.
She suggested that the latest tactic involves ground-level infiltration with the goal of "entering the island, the household, and the heart" to sway Taiwan's electorate.
Councilor Chen called on Taiwan's national security agencies to remain vigilant against such infiltrative activities. She advised citizens to raise their awareness of security to protect against possible election-meddling strategies by the CCP.