Taiwan's government is systematically recording all possible attempts by China to interfere in the upcoming election, which will be held next week, and plans to release an analysis of these interferences shortly after the voting ends.
According to the Taiwanese government, there are reasons to believe that China is applying military pressure, economic pressure and subsidizing trips to China by local Taiwanese officials to interfere in the election process ahead of the presidential and parliamentary elections scheduled for January 13.
Taiwan's foreign minister, Joseph Wu, said: “Taiwan is taking measures to counter China's interference and documenting its experience. After consultation with international experts, an analysis will be published shortly after the election."
The Chinese government has described Taiwan's election as a "purely internal Chinese affair" and says the ruling Democratic Progressive Party is trying to expose any interaction between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait as election interference.
The Minister of Foreign Affairs also emphasized that if China succeeds in influencing the results of the vote, similar tactics can be used in other democratic countries to promote the world order they support.
The news comes amid recent reports of increased Chinese military activity around Taiwan, where several Chinese aircraft and ships have crossed the strait in an official border demarcation. Chinese leader Xi Jinping expressed his belief in the "reunification" of China and Taiwan, which Taiwan's President Tsai Ing-wen refused to recognize, stressing that relations between the countries should be determined by the will of the people and based on "dignity."
