Hong Kong Pro-China Groups Launch Political Ad Campaigns in Taiwan
We discovered a network of community groups operated by the Hong Kong pro-China organization “Politihk Social Strategic,” which discusses not only Hong Kong issues but also political and social issues in Taiwan. They use Facebook’s advertising system to place ads related to Taiwanese politics, effectively amounting to foreign interference in Taiwanese political affairs.
A Hong Kong-operated Facebook page focusing on Taiwanese issues, placing political ads
A netizen messaged me, reporting that while browsing Facebook, they saw an ad bought by “China Taiwan Province Return Line (中國台灣省回歸線)” promoting an article related to TikTok, as shown in the screenshot below:
Following up, we located the “China Taiwan Province Return Line (中國台灣省回歸線)” Facebook page. Established on June 7, 2021, without any name changes, it is currently run by five Hong Kong individuals and is actively advertising on social and political issues. The page has accumulated 37,000 likes and 38,000 followers.
The page doesn’t only advertise TikTok but also campaigns on the Sudan Red social issue. The controversy over Sudan Red arose when a company in Taiwan imported chili powder from China containing Sudan Red, a substance banned in Taiwan. Many Taiwanese companies used this chili powder in their sauces, sparking a food safety scandal. The advertisement placed by this page seems aimed at inciting panic among the Taiwanese public over food safety issues.
Examining the content of “China Taiwan Province Return Line,” it predominantly features pro-China rhetoric, including reposting content from China state-affiliated media. The Facebook page “Taiwan.cn (台灣網)” is operated by Taiwan.cn, a “national key news media” managed by the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council; and “Watching the Taiwan Strait (看台海)” is a channel operated by China’s Central Radio and Television Station.
Moreover, the page also spreads disinformation related to the Taiwanese elections, including rumors about rigged voting, Lai Ching-te having an illegitimate child, and reposting a piece of news debunked as false by a fact-checking center, which was marked by Facebook.
Unsurprisingly, this page also posted articles attacking Puma Shen. The source of this article could not be identified, suggesting it might have been written by the page itself.
In tracking the shared network of this fan page, we uncovered three major fan pages engaging in coordinated activities
Our examination of the sharers beneath this fan page revealed a user named “Tang Dede (鄧德德)” frequently reposting content from this fan page into various groups, some of which are related to the Taiwan People’s Party.
Further investigation into the “Tang Dede” account revealed that it serves as an administrator for several groups, including “Patriot League (愛國者聯盟),” “People of Politihk Social Strategic (政研人),” “Apple Misconduct Watch Group (蘋果惡行關注組),” and “Support for Legislative Councilor Junius Ho (我撐何君堯議員).” During the anti-extradition bill protests in Hong Kong, an incident occurred at Yuen Long MTR station where suspected gang members dressed in white attacked civilians. Legislative Councilor Junius Ho was filmed greeting these individuals in white. As an administrator of “Support for Legislative Councilor Junius Ho (我撐何君堯議員) group, suggesting a connection between “Tang Dede” and Councilor Ho.
Within these groups, Tang Dede’s shared content includes not only posts from the “China Taiwan Province Return Line” fan page but also from “HK Patriot League” and “Hong Kong Politihk Social Strategic.” These two fan pages’ shared topics include air raid alert issued by Taiwan’s Defense Ministry before elections and attacks on Jimmy Lai Chee-ying.
The transparency of fan pages reveals that both “HK Patriot League” and “Hong Kong Politihk Social Strategic” are also operated by Hongkongers.
A cover image uploaded by Tang Dede to the groups suggests these fan pages are part of the same network, indicated by the “Patriot League” including “Hong Kong Politihk Social Strategic” in its cover.
Notably, the “Patriot League” fan page also reposts content related to the CTi News.
We summarized the topics of interest for the two fan pages focused on Taiwan, “China Taiwan Province Return Line” and “Patriot League,” during March 2024 as follows:
China Taiwan Province Return Line’s March themes included:
- Shocking news of a major tech firm in Hsinchu announcing shutdowns, selling off thousands of square meters of factory space, and laying off 510 employees.
- Reports of department store closures in Taiwan, collective withdrawals from malls, ceasing operations by March 15.
- Speculations about self-staged incidents in Cambodia related to “Goodnight Little Chick.”
- Debates on the potential ban of TikTok in the US and if Taiwan will follow suit.
- Criticisms of the NCC’s handling of the CTi News case, questioning the state of press freedom in Taiwan.
- The Sudan Red scandal in Taiwan, involving the import of chili powder containing banned substances, sparked a food safety crisis.
- Arrests in Taiwan related to a computer chess king involved in a NT$120 million scam under the guise of AI-operated investments.
- Concerns in Taiwan about China’s attempts to normalize military exercises near Taiwan.
- Ongoing repercussions from the Kinmen fishing boat capsizing incident, signaling a breakdown in cross-strait maritime and aerial understandings.
- Worries expressed by Taiwan’s Defense Minister over potential cross-strait military conflicts.
- Reports of Han Kuo-yu receiving bomb threat letters, with media personalities noting differences from previous threats.
- Predictions of a housing market crisis in New Taipei City’s prime districts, as regional customers struggle to afford homes.
- Opinions on the underlying crisis in the Kinmen incident, pointing to the Taiwanese government’s reluctant concessions while trying to save face.
- Warnings about the dangers of fluctuating temperatures.
- Accusations of arrogance and incompetence against the DPP government.
- Alarms raised by a former Kinmen commander upon noticing details in mainland China’s coast guard patrol footage, suggesting Taiwan’s face can no longer be saved.
- Positive reactions from mainland Chinese netizens to Zhong Mingxuan’s honest reflections during his visit to China.
- Concerns voiced by Wang Yixiong on Taiwan inching closer to war.
HK Patriot League’s March themes included:
- Emotional videos urging Chinese viewers to watch and share, highlighting the pain felt.
- Colorful night parades and lion dance performances across all 18 districts of Hong Kong.
- Ko Wen-je’s support for CTi News’ return.
- Legal defeats faced by the NCC in the CTi News case, with calls for legislative actions to revoke NCC’s licensing authority.
- Significant advancements in China’s nuclear submarine silence technology, causing US concern.
- Street interviews in Xiamen on support for military unification, revealing heartfelt responses from Xiamen residents.
- A stark reduction in Kinmen’s military force from 100,000 to 3,000 soldiers, raising defense concerns. Shuai Hua-Ming reflects on past US alliances, citing Lee Ao’s words as a turning point.
- Kao Chin Su-mei takes action, Kuo Jeng-Liang tells all about Kuan Bi-Ling’s script, predicting that the DPP will have a big drama to stage
- “Between China and Taiwan is not international bonder” Fu Ying clarified.
- Taiwan worries about inflation rate
These summaries illustrate how “China Taiwan Province Return Line” mainly used image and text posts to manipulate topics related to Taiwan, including economic downturns, the TikTok debate, the Kinmen maritime incident, and cross-strait defense issues. Beyond a single article each from the BBC and RFI, most content was derived from United Daily News, China Times, and other local media outlets.
HK Patriot League, on the other hand, extensively manipulated topics related to CTi News, predominantly reposting videos from CTi News’ YouTube channel.
Three major fan pages are managed by a pro-China group from Hong Kong
The three fan pages, “China Taiwan Province Return Line,” “HK Patriot League,” and “Hong Kong Politihk Social Strategic,” simultaneously posted a message within a minute at 9:39 AM on February 19, stating: “The new year’s work at the United Nations has begun, we will attend meetings for exchange early next month, please follow the pages below.”
These three fan pages directed users to the page “InnesTang in United Nations” with their posts, a page that primarily communicates in English.
Upon searching for Innes Tang, we identified this individual as the chairman of the Hong Kong Politihk Social Strategic, “Innes Tang (鄧德成).” Given the previously mentioned administrator named “Tang Dede,” it is speculated to be the same person.
Furthermore, in the fan page “InnesTang in United Nations,” a repost from the “International Probono Legal Services Association Limited” mentioned:
Thankful for the appointment by the International Probono Legal Services Association (IPLSA) as one of its permanent representatives in the UN NGO advisory groups, providing me the opportunity to share the true development stories of China and Hong Kong with the world.
In the fan page “Hong Kong Politihk Social Strategic,” we observed Innes Tang advocating for Hong Kong’s controversial Basic Law Article 23 at the United Nations.
Further investigation revealed a dinner gathering, “23 Alliance” dinner, attended by Innes Tang, Junius Ho (何君堯), Thomas Chiu (趙佐榮), and B Sister Grace (B姐Grace), confirming an acquaintance between Innes Tang and Junius Ho.
Conclusion
We found these fan pages to be operated by the Hong Kong Politihk Social Strategic, with operators including its chairman Innes Tang. Specifically, “China Taiwan Province Return Line” and “HK Patriot League” focus on Taiwanese issues, with “China Taiwan Province Return Line” purchasing political ads on Facebook to influence Taiwanese society.
