Thread by @RushDoshi

Grateful to share this piece on China's info ops in Taiwan.

What happens in Taiwan matters, and I argue PRC efforts there are now going global.

The piece draws from a forthcoming Brookings report on China's worldwide info efforts.

A few key points:

foreignaffairs.com/articles/china…

1) SOPHISTICATED EFFORTS: PRC propaganda evokes block print posters and stilted jargon. It's much more serious, increasingly involving an elaborate campaign to shape information flows in ways both direct and covert, influencing not just the message but the medium itself.

2) "DISCOURSE POWER": Chinese propaganda documents demonstrate that Beijing seeks "discourse power," defined as "power through language."

Officials downplay neutrality and objectivity and see information in Leninist terms - as a battleground or a zero-sum political tool.

3) THE INFORMATION SUPPLY CHAIN: The piece and forthcoming report introduce a concept we think is helpful -- "the information supply chain."

This chain runs from the people who produce content to news institutions that publish it to the platforms that connect it to consumers.

4) CHINA'S AIMS: In Taiwan, the PRC has sought to support the more pro-China KMT in the election. But it's also sought - as @JMichaelCole1 argues - to amplify divisions, create confusion, and back pro-China narratives that cast doubt on Taiwan's economy, governance, or security.

@JMichaelCole1 5) PEOPLE: To do that, China has sought to shape the people in Taiwan's information supply chain. All-expenses-paid conferences build ties. Meanwhile, harassment, intimidation, and especially "lawfare" are wielded against those reporting on PRC influence - chilling some coverage.

@JMichaelCole1 6) INSTITUTIONS: These efforts are also directed at media entities. PRC officials speak of "borrowing boats to reach the sea," or laundering Chinese content through cash-strapped Taiwan entities through third-party acquisitions or content-sharing.

@JMichaelCole1 7) CO-OPTING INSTITUTIONS: For example, PRC front companies paid Taiwanese media to publish stories & radio segments supplied by the PRC.

Pro-China companies also purchase media groups, turning coverage in pro-China directions and then receiving millions from Beijing.

@JMichaelCole1 8) PLATFORMS: China controls some key platforms, like WeChat, and shapes what users see.

What it doesn't control it "borrows," using computational propaganda to spread disinformation on social media in key cases - one of which famously led to the suicide of a Taiwan official.

@JMichaelCole1 9) GOING GLOBAL: And as our Brookings report argues in greater detail, PRC info efforts initially developed in diaspora communities in the West as well as in Taiwan and HK are now showing up in mainstream media from Argentina to Australia.

@JMichaelCole1 10) REPORTERS WORLDWIDE: The media conclaves China organizes for Taiwan are organized for every continent, along with free months-long training for hundreds of foreign journalists yearly in China.

And lawsuits, visa bans, and intimidation are used against offending reporters.

@JMichaelCole1 11) INSTITUTIONS WORLDWIDE: PRC has signed lucrative content-sharing agreements with hundreds of papers in every region; the state even outright invests in media companies, radio stations, etc.

All on top of China's huge ten-year campaign to build its own foreign state media.

@JMichaelCole1 12) PLATFORMS WORLDWIDE: As many know, platforms like WeChat and TikTok engage in censorship outside China, shaping what people see often without the consumer even knowing.

And Beijing continues to pursue massive info campaigns on FB, Twitter, YouTube, etc.,

@JMichaelCole1 13) IMPLICATIONS: If Beijing uses its influence over the info supply chain to censor coverage of its elite capture, corruption, or influence ops in third countries, it will damage U.S. interests and pose a significant risk to democratic accountability around the world.

@JMichaelCole1 14) TAIWAN IS KEY: Accordingly, democracies around the world should pay close attention to China's information influence efforts in Taiwan.

They're not just a sign of things to come.

They're also an example of what's already happening in the global "information supply chain."

Finally, just wanted to note that this piece was *vastly* improved by the edits of @victorbrechen!

/End