China may try to sabotage May 20 ceremony: source

VIGILANCE:
The military is paying close attention to actions that might damage peace and stability in the region, the deputy minister of national defense said

• By Chen Yu-fu and Jake Chung / Staff reporter, with staff writer and Reuters

The People’s Republic of China (PRC) might consider initiating a hack on Taiwanese networks on May 20, the day of the inauguration ceremony of president-elect William Lai (賴清德), ​​sources familiar with cross-strait issues said.

While US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken’s statement of the US expectation “that all sides will conduct themselves with restraint and prudence in the period ahead” would prevent military actions by China, Beijing could still try to sabotage Taiwan’s inauguration ceremony, the source said.

China might gain access to the video screens outside of the Presidential Office Building and display embarrassing messages from Beijing, such as congratulating Lai on becoming the “head of the Taiwan area” or outright criticizing the Taiwanese independence movement to undermine the legitimacy of the nation’s sovereignty , they said.

The PRC could also sabotage Taiwan’s power grid in the south, the source said.

The presidential banquet is to be held in Tainan this year.

China has been increasing the pressure on the Democratic Progressive Party since the presidential election on Jan. 13 to influence Lai’s inaugural speech, they said.

Beijing has been attempting to learn the contents of Lai’s inaugural address via academics in Hong Kong and Macau, the source said.

If Beijing is dissatisfied with Lai’s inaugural address, it would inevitably take action, such as terminating the tariff waivers for specific items on the Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement’s early harvest lists, the source said.

Beijing could continue its aggressive diplomatic policies to poach Taiwan’s diplomatic allies, they said.

Separately, Deputy Minister of National Defense Po Horng-huei (柏鴻輝) yesterday said that as the inauguration ceremony approaches the military would be vigilant and ready for any Chinese actions.

“Before and after May 20, our nation’s military will uphold all combat readiness requirements and pay close attention to the damaging of regional peace and stability by the other side,” he told reporters at the Legislative Yuan in Taipei.

Chinese military activities in and around the Taiwan Strait are destabilizing for the Indo-Pacific region, Po said.

Reuters has reported that Beijing has a strong dislike of Lai, believing him to be a dangerous separatist, whose repeated offers of talks it has rejected, including one this month.

Lai, like President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文), rejects Beijing’s sovereignty claims. Lai and Tsai say only Taiwanese can decide their future, Reuters reported.

Taiwan-based security sources have repeatedly said that China could show its displeasure with Lai by using the military, the report said.

In 2022, China held major war games near Taiwan after then-US House of Representatives speaker Nancy Pelosi visited Taipei and again last year after Tsai met Pelosi’s successor, then-US House of Representatives speaker Kevin McCarthy, on a stopover in California.