Taiwan rebuts China’s New Year propaganda video as psychological warfare

Taiwan’s government on Thursday strongly condemned a New Year’s propaganda video released by China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA), in which President Xi Jinping reiterated Beijing’s long-standing claim over the democratic island.

According to Radio Free Asia, the video, which featured Chinese warships, fighter jets, and dramatic imagery, sought to assert China’s dominance over Taiwan, warning of the military readiness to “safeguard the reunification of the motherland.”

Set to the song “Chinese People” by Hong Kong pop icon Andy Lau, the video included footage of a Chinese fighter jet flying near a US P-8 Poseidon aircraft, which regularly conducts reconnaissance flights through the Taiwan Strait.

A Weibo post accompanying the video said, “The officers and soldiers in the war zone are ready to fight at any time and resolutely safeguard the reunification of the motherland,” RFA reported.

In a televised address on January 1, Xi reiterated his long-term goal of unifying Taiwan with mainland China. He described the Chinese people on both sides of the Taiwan Strait as “one family” and asserted that “no one can ever sever the bond of kinship between us.”

Taiwan’s Foreign Minister Lin Chia-lung quickly responded, calling the video part of China’s ongoing “United Front” propaganda campaign aimed at intimidating Taiwan’s 23 million people, RFA reported.

Lin described it as a form of psychological warfare designed to create an “illusion” of inevitable unification. “It’s an attempt by the People’s Liberation Army to intimidate Taiwan,” he said, stressing that Taiwan’s people remain resolute in preserving their democratic way of life.

Despite Beijing’s constant threats of force, including the potential use of military action to enforce its claim, the majority of Taiwanese citizens remain opposed to any form of unification under Communist Party rule. Taiwan has never been governed by Beijing, having formed its independent government, the Republic of China, after the 1949 Chinese Civil War.

In response to China’s aggressive rhetoric, Taiwan maintains that Beijing has no jurisdiction over its citizens and continues to reject any threats to its sovereignty, reaffirming its commitment to democracy and freedom.