Be Vigilant: China Will Pit The Local Against The Center
China’s strategy of using local governments to evade central government policy is coming soon to your state
In March of 2019 Han Kuo-yu, the Kuomintang (KMT) Mayor of Kaohsiung, visited China and returned with a series of trade deals for his city. They were the fruit of Beijing’s efforts to split local governments in Taiwan from the Taiwan government’s China policy:
A slew of trade deals negotiated by Kaohsiung Mayor Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜) to sell NT$5.2 billion (US$168.5 million) worth of Taiwanese agricultural products to cities in southern China is under Beijing’s direct control, a Hong Kong newspaper reported on Tuesday.
The deals with Kaohsiung were only part of Beijing’s efforts — it also wooed Nantou and Hualien, local governments run by non-ruling party politicians. The purpose of these policies, generally trade and tourism sweeteners, is to build support for Beijing in local areas, and to create centers of resistance and evasion towards Taiwan’s central government China policy.
Beijing has not reserved this policy for Taiwan alone. In fact, it is a strategy that it has pursued successfully elsewhere, particularly in Australia. And it is coming soon to the United States.
Last week US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo spoke to the National Governors Association meeting in Washington DC, and sounded a warning:
Pompeo told some 44 governors at the National Governors Association winter meeting that they are being individually analyzed by at least one Chinese government-backed think-tank on how malleable they are, and how prone to cooperate with China. And he warned governors to be cautious on everything from business deals to pension funds to the D.C. Metro system.
According to Pompeo, each governor was given a rating: friendly, hardline, or ambiguous. Pompeo reminded them that while US institutions are largely shut out of China, Chinese organizations such as Confucius Institutes and other United Front entities have “free reign” in the US.
Pompeo’s warning comes at a time when China policy is an object of deep concern in Australia. One report notes:
Most recently, Liberal MP Gladys Liu, the first Chinese-Australian woman to win a seat in the lower house, was revealed to have ties to the World Trade United Foundation, a body whose officeholders are closely tied to pro-Beijing politicians in Hong Kong.
This follows the resignation of former Senator Sam Dastyari over his contacts with Chinese political donor Huang Xiangmo in 2017, and last year’s passage of a new foreign interference law, which was sparked by concerns over Chinese influence.
China’s strategy is to influence Australia’s China policy through a vast network of individuals and organizations. Beijing’s goals are to have Australia support is expansionist claims to the South China Sea, Taiwan, Tibet, and Xinjiang, as well as adopt pro-Beijing policies. They also attempt to suppress pro-democracy and anti-CCP voices in Australia. Clive Hamilton, author of Silent Invasion, a book detailing Chinese influence operations in Australia, observed:
It’s important to understand that the effect of Beijing’s suppression of critical voices in the Chinese-Australian community is not confined to pro-democracy and Tibetan autonomy activists. The dominant narrative in the community is now one that supports the Communist Party view of the world.
Leading Sinologist John Fitzgerald has shown how the once-diverse Chinese-language media became overwhelmingly pro-Beijing. Chinese-language media in Australia is subject to Beijing’s censorship regime. Chinese-Australians who speak about human rights violations or complain about Beijing’s interference in Australian politics are vilified.
In addition to silencing critics and wooing politicians, China also works to induce local governments to formulate their own China policies, even though these might be at odds with the Australian Federal government’s policies. These policies bear many kinds of strange fruit. Early in February a government official of West Australia apologized to China because the Taiwan flag was raised at a performance of a Taiwanese dance troupe at a public venue. A local paper reported:
WA’s taxpayer-owned State Theatre Centre has apologised to the Chinese government after it allowed a Taiwanese performing arts group to hire its facilities.
According to the Perth Theatre Trust, the state government body which manages the theatre, the Chinese consul in WA was embarrassed when “a flag was raised that did not align with the Commonwealth’s one-China policy” at a performance of the Taiwanese Acrobatic Troupe.
Like the US, Australia acknowledges (“takes note of”) China’s claim to Taiwan but does not recognize it. Also like the US, Australian government officials typically downplay or mask this policy. The venue manager who made the apology admitted he had no idea what the government’s policy was, but apologized anyway. It is a trivial example, but it shows how strong China’s influence on local governments can be, and how easily they can fall into line for Beijing.
Clive Hamilton and Alex Joske warned in a report submitted(PDF Download) to the Australian Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security:
It is most important to stress that UF [United Front] work is directed at both ethnic Chinese and non-ethnic Chinese people in Australia, with more emphasis on the latter in recent years. In both cases it aims to ‘influence the choices, direction and loyalties’ of its targets by overcoming negative perceptions of CCP rule in China and promoting favourable perceptions. UF work relies on psychological techniques of manipulation and behavioural control that have been carefully developed and tested over many years and that are disguised as ‘benign, benevolent and helpful’.
Having tested these methods in Taiwan, Australia, and elsewhere, sooner or later US state and local governments will become battlegrounds for Chinese Communist Party influence. Supporters of democracy in the US and Taiwan will have to remain vigilant, not just for suppression of critics and dissidents, but also for attempts to support political campaigns by United Front operatives and for non-Chinese politicians with United Front links. Individuals who are United Front agents must be publicly identified and the local media vigorously informed, especially the Chinese language media, which should be monitored.
Perhaps pro-Taiwan organizations and individuals can establish and fund organizations who purpose it is to monitor United Front activities in the United States and combat them. With China taking to heart the old adage that “all politics is local”, our response must be local as well.
Having tested these methods in Taiwan, Australia, and elsewhere, sooner or later US state and local governments will become battlegrounds for Chinese Communist Party influence.
