Taiwan: Spies, Lies and Cross-straits Ties
By Lianain Films
Final Script
Introduction
Taiwan: A sovereign island state or a breakaway province of the
People’s Republic of China that must inevitably return to mainland control? As
the battle intensifies to influence Taiwanese hearts and minds on this
question, we’ve been to investigate the tactics of those to whom reunification
is only a matter of time.
TC |
Visuals |
Audio |
Fact Check |
00:57 |
Taiwan flags flapping in wind, wide Taipei at dusk, PRC flags |
Music VO Asia’s most vibrant
democracy is feeling the heat – from an increasingly powerful neighbour that
claims it as a renegade province. |
backgrounder/china-taiwan-relations |
1:08 |
Super: Tsai Ing-wen President of Taiwan
|
Upsound Over the past few
years, we have faced increasing pressure from China as they threaten our
democratic way of life and limit our international space. |
|
1:19 |
Super: Archive Black and white
footage of KMT troops in Taiwan, war |
VO The two sides share
a complicated history. A civil war in
China drove the fleeing Nationalist army to Taiwan in 1949. |
la-fg-china-taiwan-relations-timeline/ |
1:31 |
Taipei GVs – flags, ext Executive yuan, people protesting on streets |
VO It’s had its own
government since, its own laws, and lately, freedoms not seen in many parts
of Asia. And yet, formally
Taiwan is not a country. |
news/world-asia-16164639 |
1:44 |
Super: Ma Xiaoguang China’s Taiwan
Affairs Office |
SOT Taiwan is an
inseparable part of China. It has never been a
country. And it will never be a country. |
|
1:55 |
Rally outside
Presidential Palace in Taipei |
Upsound Peaceful
reunification! VO Supporters of
unification between China and Taiwan insist both sides agreed in 1992 that
there is only “One China”. Upsound Support the 1992
Consensus! VO But within Taiwan,
the so-called 1992 Consensus is the subject of much debate. |
https://china-journal.org/2016/08/31/ the-1992-consensus-and-china-taiwan-relations/ |
2:15 |
Kolas Yotaka Taiwan Government Spokesperson |
SOT There was a meeting
in 1992. But there was never a consensus. |
|
2:21 |
AP - Tsai’s
inauguration, military activity |
VO Tensions have
escalated since President Tsai of the independence-leaning Democratic
Progressive Party took office. Both sides ramped
up military activity in the Taiwan Straits after Beijing cut diplomatic
contact in 2016. China also forced a string of airlines and companies to amend references to Taiwan on their websites. |
article/us-china-taiwan/china-warns-of-more-action-after-military-drills-near-taiwan-idUSKBN1HW07W 2018/07/25/news/ companies/taiwan-china-airlines/index.html |
2:47 |
David Liu Pro-unification
Supporter |
SOT Taiwan is small. It
will be disastrous if war breaks out. We’re all Chinese, I’m sure no one
wants this to happen. |
|
2:58 |
AIT dedication
ceremony Flag flapping in
wind, GVS ceremony |
VO Frostier relations
with China come amid a strengthening of ties with the United States. Officially,
Washington agrees with Beijing that Taiwan is a part of China, but
unofficially, it’s one of the island’s main allies. This year, the US
opened a new $255 million complex in the capital Taipei. It also committed
to stronger military support for Taiwan, and passed a bill encouraging visits
between officials from both sides. |
pa/ei/bgn/35855.htm www.washingtonpost.com HYPERLINK
"http://www.washingtonpost.com/"/ news/worldviews/wp /2018/06/18/the-u-s-government-has -opened-a-huge- new-facility-in-taiwan-and-china-isnt-happy/?utm_term =.f2cc6f5e1cf4 https://www.washingtonpost.com/ news/global-opinions/wp/2018/07/ 23/the-u-s-makes-a-new-push-to-bolster-taiwans-military-defenses-china-wont-like-it/?utm_term=.9265aacd00e8 |
3:33 |
Alexander Huang Defense Analyst |
SOT I don’t think my
president wanted to choose sides between China and the United States. But the situation
needs to be at least controllable, manageable, so we are walking on a tight
rope. |
|
3:47 |
Concentric
Patriotism Alliance members in bright red van, with CCP flags, Alliance
members cheer CCP |
VO For the Chinese
Communist Party, a campaign to win the hearts and minds of the Taiwanese
people continues. Earlier this year,
Beijing announced its so-called “31 measures”, placing certain Taiwanese
businesses and individuals on an equal footing with their Chinese
counterparts. |
/en/news/3374302 |
4:07 |
Concentric
Patriotism Alliance members in bright red van, with CCP flags, Alliance
members cheer CCP |
VO Within Taiwan,
China is also making its presence felt. Upsound Long live the
Chinese Communist Party! Long live… VO People and Power
investigates the fringe political groups working with Beijing. |
|
4:20 |
Super top left:
Hidden Camera Zhang Xiuye, inside
the Concentric Patriotism Alliance’s offices |
Upsound Authorities in
China know which businesses support unification. They’ll do their best to
make sure you don’t lose money. |
|
4:29 |
GVS university students |
VO We find out some of
the ways China gathers information inside Taiwan. |
|
4:36 |
Super top left: Disguised voice Super “Amy” Former Exchange
Student |
SOT I thought something
was amiss. I felt that in reality, they were collecting intelligence. |
|
4:43 |
Election
campaigning in Tainan |
Upsound VO Ahead of local
elections at the end of the year, there are fears things could get even more
intense. |
|
4:50 |
Super Chiu Chui-cheng Deputy Minister,
Taiwan Mainland Affairs Council |
SOT We have to do is
expose the Chinese Communist Party’s motives and the tactics it uses to
divide us. |
|
|
Fade |
Fade |
|
4:59 |
Fade up Super: Mobile Phone
Video Wang Ping-chung’s
mobile phone footage of police showing up at his house. |
Fade in Upsound Policewoman This is a search
warrant from the Taipei District Court. VO They showed up just
after six in the morning. Upsound Wang I was sleeping
here. VO Pro-unification
politician Wang Ping-chung says he was completely unprepared. |
|
5:15 |
Super Wang Ping-chung Pro-unification Politician |
SOT At first, I thought
I was dreaming. After a while, it sounded real. Some people were really
ringing my doorbell and knocking on my door. |
|
5:22 |
Wang Ping-chung’s livestream footage |
Upsound Wang What on earth are
you doing? VO What followed was
livestreamed by Wang on his Facebook page. Upsound Police officer It’s all written
here. It concerns the National Security Law. Wang Ping-chung The National
Security Law? |
|
5:35 |
Police entering flat. Minor scuffle. Phone is switched off. |
VO The
standoff, which lasted 40 minutes, ended when police broke the lock. Upsound Police
officer A
search warrant from the Taipei District Court. Is that OK? Give me your
phone. (minor scuffle) Wang How
can you do this? You can film me but I can’t film you? Police
offcer Give
me your phone. |
|
5:40 |
Convicted spy Zhou
Hongxu leaves court, is surrounded by reporters. |
Music VO The raid might not
have happened were it not for this man. Zhou Hongxu – a
Chinese citizen and former student at one of Taiwan’s best universities. He spent 14 months
in jail for attempting to recruit spies for Beijing – a charge he continues
to deny today. |
article/us-taiwan-china-student/taiwan-jails-mainland-chinese-man-on-national-security-charge-idUSKCN1BQ0BZ |
6:10 |
Wang and fellow
party members at New Party press conference |
VO Among Zhou’s
alleged collaborators – Wang Ping-chung. When we meet again,
it’s at a hastily called press conference. Wang, his father,
and two members of his political party, have just been indicted and are
awaiting trial. |
A press release issued by the Prosecutor’s office alleges that Wang and other members of his party collaborated with Zhou. |
6:30 |
Super Wang Ping-chung Pro-unification
Politician |
Upsound Wang Ping-chung We’ve been summoned
several times, and we’ve been very clear. We’ve never endangered national
security, or accepted any financial support from any group linked to the
Chinese Communist Party to form a so-called spy ring or any organisation that
will undermine national security. Thank you everyone. |
|
6:48 |
Wang and colleagues
stand up, bow, leave |
VO But prosecutors
insist the three politicians took money from Beijing, with former student
Zhou Hongxu acting as middleman. |
|
6:57 |
GVS students at
university campus |
Music VO The National
Chengchi University is where he got his post-graduate degree. Zhou declined our
request for an interview. But we manage to
speak to a former exchange student at one of Taiwan’s other universities. She’s asked that we
hide her identity. |
|
7:16 |
Super top left:
Disguised voice Super: “Amy” Former Exchange Student |
SOT Someone sent me a
message on social media. He said he was from a certain government security
department. They needed some information for their own internal research. |
|
7:29 |
Row of bicycles outside university, blurry students walking in background |
VO Amy says she
quickly suspected something was wrong. But government
officials wouldn’t leave her alone. |
|
7:36 |
Super top left: Altered voice Super “Amy” Former Exchange Student |
SOT A school counselor
lured me to an office by pretending to be concerned for my wellbeing. She
handed me to five officers from the government security department. These
five officers interrogated me for a few hours. |
|
7:55 |
Security in front of presidential palace in Taipei |
Upsound Communist
music from van VO 3pm on a weekday
afternoon, outside the Presidential palace in downtown Taipei… |
Members of the alliance told our undercover investigator that they would leave at 3pm every day for Taipei 101 |
8:04 |
Patriots’ van zips
past presidential palace Arriving at Taipei
101
|
Upsound music from
van VO … and this is a
regular sight. Members of the
Concentric Patriotism Alliance are on their way to one of the city’s
best-known landmarks – Taipei 101. |
|
8:15 |
Pan down – Taipei
101 to members of Concentric Patriotism Alliance outside building, flags
flapping in wind |
VO Here, they
broadcast their message on unification to tourists from mainland China. |
|
8:21 |
Zhang Xiuye of the
Concentric Patriotism Alliance speaks to tourists |
Upsound We must reunify! We must fight this battle! If peaceful
unification is impossible, they should do it by force! Use force to solve
this Taiwan problem! Right or not? |
|
8:32 |
Patriot mocks Falungong member |
Upsound Patriot Who are you
fooling? VO And they take on followers of the Falungong, spiritual
movement who are publicising the plight of their fellow practitioners in
mainland China, where the group is outlawed. |
|
8:43 |
Member of Alliance
taunts Falungong member |
Upsound Falungong member The truth will be
revealed. Patriot The Chinese
Communist Party will still be around 10,000 years after you’re dead. |
|
8:51 |
Police watching Patriots from a distance |
VO Today’s exchange
ends peacefully but that hasn’t always been the case. |
|
8:57 |
Super top left: Web
Video Various clips from YouTube videos of Alliance members assaulting various people, brawling in public |
Upsound VO The Concentric Patriotism Alliance’s members regularly
feature in online videos like these. Their targets include
pro-independence supporters, democracy activists as well as the Falungong. Upsound police Please do not resist. VO Several of their members have been convicted of assault. |
Report on Zhang’s conviction: /news/society/ breakingnews/1498038 Chow Hing-chuen,
Zhang Xiuye, Zhang Jinde, Wang Meidun, Qiu Xiaxin - October 2010: Assault against Falun Gong members under Article
304 of the ROC Criminal Code. |
9:19 |
Super top left:
Secret Filming Walking towards Concentric Patriotism Alliance’s office |
Music VO Within
Taiwan, questions over the methods and funding sources of the Concentric
Patriotism Alliance have swirled for some time. |
Article from 2014
questioning CPA’s motivations: http://thinking-taiwan.com/whos-waving-those-ccp-flags/ |
9:29 |
Super top left: Hidden Camera Researcher walks up some stairs, enters offices |
VO People and Power
has been investigating. Upsound You’re from the
mainland, right? VO Posing as a
mainlander who has recently moved to Taiwan, our undercover researcher has
been getting to know the group. |
|
9:42 |
Super top left:
Hidden Camera Conversation with
Zhang Xiuye |
Upsound VO Among the first
things we learn is that co-founder Zhang Xiuye, is running in this year’s
local elections. Upsound Woman supporter When you run for
elections, we’ll mobilise all these people. Right? I can make the
arrangements. VO Upsound Zhang Xiuye It’s not bad,
waving placards. You make $27 a day. Woman supporter Everyone gets $27
but I get $30. Because I help gather the people. They’re very happy. They say
I do a good job. |
|
10:17 |
Ershui, July 1 –
Ceremony marking founding of CCP |
Upsound VO The Concentric
Patriotism Alliance is headed by 75-year-old Chow Hing-chuen. Upsound Chow Long live China! Long live! VO Originally from
mainland China, Chow holds both Hong Kong and Taiwanese identity cards. |
This was revealed
by Zhang to our undercover investigator. Chow ran for
elections in Hong Kong in 1985. He also ran in Taiwan in 1995. |
10:34 |
Chow at flag
raising in Ershui, central Taiwan |
Upsound VO In this video, he’s
in central Taiwan, marking the anniversary of the founding of the Chinese
Communist Party. But Chow was not
always a believer. |
|
10:49 |
Scanned copy of
declassified document |
VO In 1984, he wrote a
letter to the then British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, objecting to
Hong Kong being handed back to China. His letter began: “It is known to all
that Communist rule is characterised by
suppression that leads only to bloodshed, deprivation and dire poverty.”
Clearly, Chow has
since had a change of heart. |
2017/02/09/taiwan-pro-unification-activist-hong-kong-opposed-handover-1980s-declassified-documents-show/ |
11:15 |
Chow standing
before Chinese flag |
VO But is Beijing
funding his political activities? Here’s what Zhang
Xiuye –co-founder of the Concentric Patriotism Alliance - has to say. |
|
11:27 |
Super top left:
Hidden Camera Conversation with
Zhang Xiuye |
Upsound Zhang Whoever gets caught
taking money from China will be put in jail. Woman (staff at the
alliance) But it’s no problem
if it’s money from a business. Zhang Right. It’s not a
problem if it’s money from a Taiwanese businessman. If you’re like our Chief
who runs a business in China and uses the money for the Alliance, it’s no one
else’s business. Authorities in China know which businesses support
unification. They’ll do their best to make sure you don’t lose money. |
|
11:58 |
Exterior Executive Yuan |
VO At the offices of
the Taiwanese government, spokesperson Kolas Yotaka says more can be done to
regulate all political groups. |
|
12:07 |
Kolas Yotaka Taiwan Government Spokesperson |
SOT We hope that by
amending the law we will have better control over registered groups and get
them to be transparent about their activities and finances. |
|
12:18 |
NTDTV footage –
police raid offices of the China Unification Promotion Party |
Upsound music,
camera flashes VO But even before
changes to legislation, police have started to act. In early August,
they raid the offices of another fringe party, the China Unification
Promotion Party, and the home of its Chairman, Chang An-le, on suspicion the
group was receiving funding from the Chinese government. |
|
12:39 |
Super: Chang An-le Pro-unification Politician |
SOT I am a Chinese
person. Does that mean my money’s from China? Yes! But is any of it from the
Chinese Communist Party? No! |
|
12:49 |
Crowd waits for
White Wolf outside court on August 9 |
Upsound Man on loudhailer Chairman Chang! Crowd Keep going! VO Two days later, a
crowd greets Chang as he arrives for questioning at Taipei’s district court. |
|
13:01 |
Chang An-le arrives at district court in Taipei |
Upsound VO He’s arguably one
of Taiwan’s most controversial politicians. Also known as the
“White Wolf, Chang is a former mob boss who spent 10 years in prison in
America, and 17 years on the run in mainland China. He was arrested on
returning to Taiwan in 2013 and released on bail hours later. |
2018/08/16/ the-white-wolf-of-taiwan/ /banyan/2014/09/04/the-white-wolf |
13:24 |
Reporters mob Chang
An-le |
VO Chang has since
remade himself as a pro-unification politician. And while his party
has no seats in the legislature, Chang’s controversial past has kept it in
the media spotlight. |
|
13:39 |
Chang Wei arrives,
is mobbed Super: Chang Wei Chang An-le’s Son |
VO Chang’s son, Chang
Wei, shows up a little later. A travel agency
managed by his wife has also been raided. He denies it was
receiving money from the Chinese Communist Party but confesses to something
else instead. Upsound Chang Wei I am probably
guilty of manipulating company accounts. When I started the business I had no
money. So I borrowed money from friends and invested that instead. I returned
the money but I did try to manipulate the books. Now, why would I have had to
borrow this money if I already had funds from China? |
|
14:22 |
Chang An-le emerges four hours later |
VO The interrogation
lasts about four hours. Chang says he was
mainly asked about relief efforts organised by his party, following an
earthquake in eastern Taiwan earlier this year. |
|
14:35 |
Super: Chang An-le Pro-unification
Politician |
SOT If you think it’s
wrong to help during a natural disaster, I can only laugh. You say the
Chinese government provided the money? I really wish they did. Next time
there’s a disaster and Chinese officials say they’ll give us money, I’ll take
it. Would I be willing to be arrested? Yes. Why? Because I’m helping
Taiwanese people. |
|
15:02 |
Zhang, Chow cheer
as Chang leaves court |
VO As Chang leaves the
district court Chow Hing-cheun, the head of the Concentric Patriotism
Alliance, and Zhang Xiuye shout slogans in support of him. Upsound Chow Exterminate those
who support Taiwan independence! Upsound Zhang Supporters of
Taiwan independence are the real criminals! |
|
15:21 |
CPA van drives off, music blaring |
Upsound music from
van VO But in the privacy
of their office, some Alliance regulars paint a far murkier picture of Chang
and his party.
|
|
15:29 |
Super top left:
Hidden Camera Zheng Jianxin at
Alliance’s office |
Upsound Zheng Jianxin Here’s my new name
card. VO Zheng Jianxin is a
former member of Taiwan’ main opposition party, the Kuomintang, and an
independent candidate in upcoming elections. |
Multiple posts on Zheng’s FB page shows documents proving he was a KMT member. He also says so in discussions at the CPA’s office. |
15:42 |
Super top left: Hidden Camera Zhang Jianxin
visits |
Upsound Zheng Jianxin I went to Shenzhen
to see Chang An-le. VO It appears he also
knows Chang An-le pretty well. Upsound Zheng Jianxin He came back four
years ago. A year and a half before his return, we went to see him
intensively. We discussed what he should do when he got back. Zhang Xiuye Back then, everyone
was telling him not to be so high profile, to stay in the background. Zheng Jianxin It’s not a big deal
if he’s high profile or not. Because he himself is from the triads. Also the
party was built on his image. But how can he whitewash his image? By not
having any triad members under you. Right now, all kinds of triads are in the
China Unification Promotion Party. Why have they joined the party? There’s
only one reason. To whitewash their reputations. They can have a sign that
says they’re a China Unification Promotion Party branch office. But inside
it’s a triad branch. I can tell my mother, “Look ma, I’m joining a party, not
the triads.” |
|
16:33 |
Hongmen unification
banquet |
Upsound VO Despite differences
in their beliefs, some parties within the pro-unification camp have started
coming together. On a Saturday
afternoon in August, hundreds attend a banquet in Taipei. |
|
16:48 |
Inside banquet room – New Party Members, CUPP table |
VO Wang Ping-chung’s
colleagues, and members of the Chang An-le’s China Unification Promotion
Party are also here. |
|
16:57 |
Pan from woman on stage to crowd at banquet |
Upsound Let’s all support
candidates who believe there is only one China! VO It’s three months
to the elections, and campaigning has clearly started. |
|
17:07 |
Hongmen table |
VO The host is the
Hongmen Association, sometimes referred to as the Freemasons of China. |
/history/chinese_freemasons /index.html David Liu’s name card also refers to the group as “Freemasons” |
17:14 |
Super: David Liu Chairman, Hongmen
International |
SOT The Hongmen has a
350-year history. In many countries, it’s an underground organisation. But in
2004 in Taiwan, we became officially legal. Basically, Hongmen is a patriotic
organisation. We started out wanting to topple the Qing Dynasty but now our
aim is to revitalise China. |
|
17:31 |
Liu on stage, crowd cheers, GVS lunch, people posing for pictures |
Upsound David Liu Revitalise China! VO For now, that means
bringing about peaceful unification between Taiwan and China. Liu believes this
can happen if both sides adopt the “one country two systems” model most often
associated with Hong Kong. |
|
17:48 |
Super: David Liu Chairman, Hongmen International |
SOT Taiwan has been
democratising for some time now, so young people don’t like to be
constrained. Why are we proposing ‘One Country, Two Systems’? In our view,
‘One Country, Two Systems’ means we’ll get to maintain our way of life.
Everything stays the same. |
|
18:05 |
Lin Yi-ying campaigning in Tainan |
Upsound VO For twenty-six year
old Lin Yi-ying, that’s not a workable system.
|
|
18:24 |
Super: Lin Yi-ying Pro-independence Politician |
SOT I regularly read
about Hong Kong in the news and think to myself, “This is frightening, Taiwan
could be next.” We should build up our democracy. We have our own
democratically elected president. We even have progressive values that we can
show off. We’ll try our best to counter China’s oppression. |
|
18:43 |
Lin campaigning |
Upsound VO Lin is running in
local elections in the southern city of Tainan - traditionally a stronghold
of President Tsai’s Democratic Progressive Party. Beijing, it seems,
has been reaching out to young people here too. As a student, Lin
and her classmates got to visit China on a highly subsidised tour. |
|
19:07 |
Super: Lin Yi-ying Pro-independence
politician |
SOT The hotels were not
bad. Food was pretty good too. They took us to all these museums. They kept
saying we were all one family. They kept repeating that as sons and daughters
of China, our blood was thicker than water. |
|
19:22 |
Chan meeting kids at the village office |
Upsound VO To find out if
Beijing has been trying to influence politics at the grassroots level, we’ve
come to see Chan Chin Chiew. He’s a
pro-independence village chief in an area that has traditionally been pro
unification. This afternoon,
he’s busy showing some primary school children his offices. Chan says mainland
Chinese academics have asked for similar tours. |
|
19:49 |
Super: Chan Chin-chiew Village Chief |
SOT They were very
interested in administrative affairs in our village. They asked to attend our
internal meetings. I turned them down straightaway. |
|
20:00 |
Chan says goodbye to kids |
VO During his first
year in office, Chan was invited to visit China with a group of other village
chiefs. |
|
20:09 |
Super: Chan Chin-chiew Village Chief |
SOT They take care of
everything the moment you arrive. We were entertained by members of the
Chinese Communist Party and local officials. Every time they toasted us, they
would say we were all from the same family. |
|
20:19 |
Ext Chiu’s office Super: Chiu Chui-cheng Taiwan Mainland Affairs Council |
VO Taiwan’s Mainland
Affairs Council says these sorts of exchanges have been happening for some
time. SOT We hope
cross-straits exchanges can be healthier and not be backed by political
motives. Taiwan people aren’t going to change their political views just
because they’ve been invited on a few trips. |
|
20:40 |
Super top left:
Hidden Camera Last day at CPA office |
Music VO Back at the offices
of the Concentric Patriotism Alliance in Taipei, Chief Chow Hing-cheun has
decided to offer our undercover researcher a job. |
|
20:52 |
Super top left:
Hidden Camera Chow Hing-chuen
sits down with researcher |
VO But first, he wants
to see some ID. |
|
20:54 |
Super top left:
Hidden Camera Chow Hing-chuen
speaks to researcher |
Upsound Chow Do you have a
mainland Chinese identity card? Researcher Yes, I do. Chow Give me a copy. Researcher OK, I’ll bring you
a copy next time I come in. |
|
21:08 |
Super top left:
Hidden Camera Last day at CPA
office, with Chow Hing-cheun Co-founder, Concentric Patriotism Alliance |
VO A little later, we
find out why. Upsound I don’t trust
Taiwanese people. I only trust mainlanders. Because as mainlanders, we all
have relatives in China. You cannot disclose what we do here to outsiders. If
you do that, you might not be affected, but your relatives in China will get
hurt. |
|
21:32 |
Super top left:
Hidden Camera Shot from secret
cam – researcher hurriedly moves closer to Chow. |
VO It’s clearly time
to end the undercover assignment. But just before our
researcher leaves, Chow receives a call. |
|
21:42 |
Super top left:
Secret Filming Chow on phone with police |
Upsound Chow Hey, I need your
help too. How many people at your police station support independence? I’d
like to put together a list with names of those who are pro-independence. Chow It was the police. Researcher A friend in the
Taiwanese police? Chow We make use of each
other, you understand? He’s not a real friend. First, I hope to
get a list of independence supporters. Second, I’m sending him a warning.
Don’t think about being pro-independence or I’ll come after you. |
|
22:22 |
Super top left:
Hidden Camera Secret cam shot of Chow |
VO The Concentric
Patriotic Alliance, China’s Taiwan Affairs Office and the Taipei Police don’t
respond to our requests for comment. |
|
22:32 |
Graphic: How Taiwanese
People View The People’s Republic of China Logo: Taiwanese Public Opnion Foundation |
VO Beijing’s attempts
to simultaneously intimidate and charm the Taiwanese public have drawn mixed
results. An annual poll by
the Taiwanese Public Opinion Foundation found more respondents viewing China
favourably than unfavourably for the first time since the survey started. |
en/news/3459642 |
22:53 |
Graphic: Mainland Affairs
Council logo Text Taiwan Government
should take stronger measures to prevent further infiltration by China during
cross-straits exchanges Bold and bigger:
64.7% AGREE |
VO But in a separate
survey conducted by the Mainland Affairs Council, 64.7 percent of respondents
agreed that the Taiwanese government should take stronger steps to prevent
infiltration by the Chinese government during cross-straits exchanges. |
cp.aspx?n= AABFF8BF9C7B8DB4 |
23:07 |
Lion dance in Datun village square |
Upsound drumming VO For
most Taiwanese, historical ties to China are hard to ignore. Culturally,
the two sides have much in common – like this traditional lion dance these
teenagers are learning in a village outside the capital, Taipei. |
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23:28 |
Chin watching kids practice |
VO Their teacher is
village chief Chin Jung-huei. He’s a supporter of
Tsai Ing-wen, but has also been criticised for leading other village chiefs
on exchange visits to China. |
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23:40 |
Super: Chin Jung-huei Village Chief |
SOT I
believe most Taiwanese people have friends or relatives in China. It’s hard
to cut ties. |
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23:53 |
Taiwan lion dance |
VO Chin
makes it a point to show us this creature – a lion unique to Taiwan. He
says he supports democracy, but sidesteps the issue when we ask for his views
on unification. |
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24:08 |
Super: Chin Jung-huei Village Chief |
SOT Regarding the issue
of unification or independence, as a grassroots worker, I feel it’s not up to
me. I support peace for the Taiwanese people, good jobs, stability and
happiness for everyone. |
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24:30 |
Lion dancers perched on top benches – like they’re walking a tight rope |
VO It’s an ambiguous
and yet commonly held position in Taiwan. Recent calls for
clarity mean its leaders will have to strike an increasingly delicate
balance, in a time of heightened tensions. |
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End – |
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