Why are unsubstantiated claims of Chinese election interference spreading in Taiwan?

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Unsubstantiated Claims of Chinese Election Interference Spread in Taiwan Due to Cross-Border Social Media Dynamics and Pre-existing Anxieties

Unsubstantiated claims regarding Chinese interference in South Korea's recent elections have proliferated across Taiwanese social media platforms, fueling anxieties about potential similar tactics in Taiwan's upcoming local polls. These narratives have crossed national borders through translated social media posts, gaining traction despite debunking efforts by fact-checkers and officials. The spread is exacerbated by existing societal concerns about China's influence and real-world election issues that erode public trust, making fabricated claims more believable to some audiences.
Transnational Disinformation Amplified by Translation Tools

Disinformation campaigns targeting South Korea's municipal elections last month have been widely disseminated on Taiwanese social media, often playing on anti-China sentiment. These false narratives initially spread in Korean before being translated into Chinese, enabling them to reach a broader Taiwanese audience concerned about electoral integrity. The ease with which social media speculation can traverse borders, facilitated by one-click translation tools, underscores the transnational nature of modern disinformation. For instance, a claim that voting centres used Huawei servers, which was picked up by Taiwanese news outlets, was traced back to an election observer who reportedly named their mobile hotspot after the Chinese technology giant.
Pre-existing Societal Anxieties and Distrust

Taiwanese society harbours significant anxieties and resistance towards China, which has been amplifying military pressure on the island. This backdrop makes the population particularly receptive to narratives of Chinese interference. As Claire Chen Wei-Ting of the Taiwan FactCheck Center noted, the rapid spread of the South Korean election controversy in Taiwan was "driven by the premise of ‘Chinese interference in the election,’" directly echoing these societal sentiments. Furthermore, real-world issues within elections, such as ballot paper shortages observed in South Korea, fuelled public distrust and made misleading claims about vote-rigging and hacking more convincing. The resignation of South Korea's top election official following the uproar over ballot shortages highlights how genuine problems can create fertile ground for misinformation.
Projection of Political Anxieties and Electoral Strategy

The South Korean elections have also served as a platform for Taiwanese voters to project their own political anxieties regarding Taiwan's future. Hung Chen-ling, a professor researching disinformation, pointed out that concerns about absentee voting, a system present in South Korea and proposed in Taiwan, contribute to fears of potential ghost voters, significant vote-rigging, or increased opportunities for fraud. Additionally, Tzeng Wei-feng suggested that supporters of Taiwan's ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) might leverage anxieties about Chinese meddling to consolidate their electoral base, aligning with their anti-China messaging. This dynamic could lead to increased political polarization in Taiwan, where votes might be swayed by misinformation rather than rational policy discussions if rival parties engage in similar tactics.

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Why are unsubstantiated claims of Chinese election interference spreading in Taiwan?

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