Taiwan's top China policy official has warned Beijing that interfering in the 2026 Taiwan local elections "will not succeed and will only backfire," after Kevin Tsai (蔡康永), one of the most famous television hosts in the Chinese speaking world, posted an apology on Chinese social media for appearing at a Taipei mayoral candidate's campaign event.
Tsai attended the October 4 launch of the campaign headquarters of Puma Shen (沈伯洋), the ruling Democratic Progressive Party's (DPP) candidate for Taipei mayor, drawing a backlash in China. Late on October 25, he wrote on Weibo, "I have never supported Taiwan independence," and apologized for the trouble caused to his business partners and to people who had once liked him. The next day, he also appeared at the campaign headquarters launch of Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安), Shen's opponent from the opposition Kuomintang (KMT).
Why Taiwan's China Policy Chief Says Meddling Will Backfire
Asked about Tsai's statement at the Legislative Yuan on October 27, Chiu Chui-cheng (邱垂正), minister of the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC), said the free choices of Taiwan's people should not be interfered with or threatened by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). He called on Beijing to refrain from any transnational repression or election interference against Taiwan. "This will not succeed. It will only backfire," he said.
Tsai's case is the latest example of the pressure Taiwanese entertainers with careers in China face whenever they are seen as taking political sides. Shen, a former legislator who has been sanctioned and placed on a wanted list by Beijing over his work on Chinese influence operations, is a particular target. One recent poll put him 17 points ahead in the Taipei race, which has drawn growing attention over Chinese efforts to sway Taiwan's local elections.
Why Chinese Actor Zhang Linghe's Taiwan Visit Is On Hold
Asked whether Beijing might again use entertainers to meddle in the campaign, Chiu said the MAC still welcomes exchanges with mainland Chinese entertainers based on mutual respect and equal dignity, and that the policy has not changed.
But he singled out Chinese actor Zhang Linghe (張凌赫), whom members of the public had reported over Weibo posts that he said belittled and sought to erase Taiwan's sovereignty. Zhang had taken part in the Straits Forum, a cross strait gathering organized by Beijing, under the arrangement of China's Taiwan Affairs Office, which had also repeatedly raised the idea of his visiting Taiwan at its press conferences.
Chiu said such politically charged united front tactics, Beijing's term for efforts to win over groups outside the party, are not innocent and can easily stir up social division, especially before an election. Zhang should be invited to Taiwan at an appropriate time later, he said, once the visit has been stripped of united front purposes, politics and political risk.
What Chiu Said About Hung Hsiu-chu's Remarks
Chiu was also asked about former KMT chairwoman Hung Hsiu-chu (洪秀柱), who told a seminar marking the 81st anniversary of what the KMT calls Taiwan's "retrocession," the 1945 handover of Taiwan from Japanese rule, that Japanese militarism had severed Taiwan's roots, and that some people in Taiwan were still "treating the enemy as their father."
Chiu responded that the Republic of China is a sovereign, independent country and that it and the People's Republic of China are not subordinate to each other. Taiwan's people uphold the values and way of life of freedom and democracy and reject rule by the CCP, he said, which is both the will of the whole nation and the mainstream view. He pointed to a MAC poll released last week showing that more than 88% of respondents reject being ruled by the CCP. "I ask Ms. Hung Hsiu-chu to stop denigrating her own country," he said.
