The Taiwan Presidential Election and Criminal Interference – Triads, United Front, and Women Defending Democracy
The Asian Crime Century briefing 46
Criminals have interfered in elections in the Republic of China (Taiwan) since the island started became a multi-party democracy from the 1980s. The drivers of criminal interference are both local corruption and also united front influencing activities from the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Both of these internal and external forces have been abetted by well-established Triad societies and related criminal gangs in Taiwan, which have been available for hire to attack the democratic process and system.
Last week the Minister for Justice, Tsai Ching-hsiang, announced that the Ministry of Justice was preparing to combat any interference with the 2024 Presidential election. The Ministry is deploying investigators to review registered voters to ensure integrity in registration, and also targeting illegal organisations and disinformation. The Ministry of Justice is also offering large rewards of up to US$474,000 for information on bribery of candidates.
Interference from the Underworld
The nature of criminal interference in Taiwan democracy is well understood and openly discussed by the authorities. The criminal gangs involved in gambling are a key part of political influencing. In September, the Taiwan deputy minister of mainland affairs (the department that coordinates relations with the PRC), stated that CCP united front efforts include paying underground bookmakers to place highly skewed odds (prices) on failing candidates and provide Taiwanese people with large cash payouts if China’s preferred candidate wins. Illegal gambling is a huge sector in Taiwan, run by well-established criminal gangs that have become regional operators across Asia. The scale of illegal betting can be so huge that if large numbers of people are attracted to place bets on pro-China unification political candidates then an outcome tends to be a herd mentality of support for them.
In September, Taiwan police arrested two men in New Taipei City for allegedly seeking to influence the election by operating a betting pool. The police stated that the two men were acting on instructions from a mastermind of the syndicate based in mainland China and also to be a PRC national. The Prosecutor-General stated that “They are likely using underground channels and cryptocurrencies to transfer a large amount of funds into Taiwan, and many of them either have Chinese owners or they are financed to serve Chinese interests.”
In October, the Taiwan National Security Bureau Director-General briefed legislators and explained that "We are paying special attention to the Chinese communists cooperating with opinion poll and public relations companies for the possibility of manipulating opinion polls and issuing them to interfere in the elections.” Such manipulation is particularly effective in using concerns about future possible military conflict with the PRC.
Information warfare efforts such as these often require criminal support to organise. Political groups in Taiwan such as the China Unification Promotion Party (CUPP), the New Party, and the Taiwan Red Party are supported by CCP united front but cannot legally receive finance from the PRC and hence have to rely on illegal funding.
The CUPP reportedly has an established history of cooperation with Taiwanese Triad groups such as the Bamboo Union (竹聯幫) and the Four Seas Gang (四海幫). The CUPP was founded by Chang An-le, also known as the “White Wolf”. Chang was convicted of drug smuggling in the USA in 1985 and served ten years in prison. He fled from Taiwan in 1996 after being listed as wanted by the authorities, living in Shenzhen in the PRC. He founded the CUPP in 2004, and since then has been a vocal supporter of the unification of Taiwan with the PRC. Chang returned to Taiwan in 2013 and remains an active supporter of the PRC, although he is suspected to use his political activities as a front for the Bamboo Union, of which he is believed to be a key leader.
(Mr. Chang An-le, also known as the “White Wolf”, Source: NewTalk, 21 July 2021, https://newtalk.tw/news/view/2019-07-21/275364 )
The Bamboo Union, or Chuk Luen Bong, was formed in Taiwan in 1956, and comprised of many offspring of mainland Chinese who had fled from the communist forces in 1949 and were generally supportive of the Kuomintang. One group of Chinese exiles residing at Wing Wor Village on the outskirts of Taipei were repeatedly attacked and extorted by established local gangs, and so they grouped together to form the Chuk Luen Bong, literally translated as ‘Bamboo United Gang’ with the name derived from the bamboo groves that surrounded Wing Wor Village. The Bamboo United Gang were generally supportive of the Kuomintang and flourished.
CUPP and Bamboo Union support for reunification with the PRC is evident in the run up to the election. On 26th November, at a temple fair in Taichung, a leading Bamboo Union member displayed a large altar next to the stage displaying the CUPP name and Chinese characters “Unification” and “Promote the Party” (統促黨). The police accused Wu and his Bamboo Union followers and accusing him of holding a political rally without a license, leading to a long confrontation until Wu agreed to cover the banner.
(A temple in Taichung, Taiwan, with a banner reading "China Unification Promotion Party Winning Party Department", Source: UDN, 27 November 2023, https://udn.com/news/story/7325/7601018 )
Taiwan Women Defending Democracy
Taiwan now has to defend its democracy from the internal and external forces that threaten its existence. Vigilance against criminal interference is widespread across government and society, but several women in politics are visible defenders of democracy, notably President Tsai Ing-wen and Ms. Hsiao Bi-khim. Figures such as Tsai and Hsiao are despised by the CCP as they are mild mannered symbols of democratic politics and hence appeal to voters more than the obvious intemperate interference involving criminals.
President Tsai will step down from office after serving two terms and be replaced by the winner of the presidential election to be held in January 2024. Ms. Tsai is a member of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and has been president since 2016, having been re-elected for a second term during the vote in 2020.
President Tsai stated this week at a conference hosted by the Institute for National Defence and Security Research that “The people of Taiwan are determined to protect our hard-earned freedoms and democracy”, and that “Authoritarian actors’ cognitive warfare, in the form of mis- and/or disinformation, attempts to exploit and drive polarisation in our free and democratic society.” Tsai has been the face of democracy in Taiwan during her tenure as president, and after stepping down from office there may be a new female symbol from the DPP.
Ms. Hsiao Bi-khim has been named as the running mate of Lai Ching-te, the presidential nominee from the DPP. Hsiao is aged 52 and was previously the representative of the Republic of China (Taiwan) in the USA since July 2020. Hsiao is a stark contrast to the Kuomintang (KMT) presidential running mate, Jaw Shaw-kong, who is a 72 years old man whose father was a KMT soldier who fled from mainland China during the communist advance and who advocates reunification of Taiwan and the PRC.
Ms. Hsiao has had a long career in politics having been appointed as the DPP international affairs director in 1999 when she was aged 27. She has a very international background having been born in Japan in 1971 with a Taiwanese father and American mother, and later educated in the USA. In 2001 she was elected to the Legislative Yuan, the legislature in Taiwan, having worked for former president Chen Shui-bian during the general election in 2000.
In April 2023, the People’s Daily in the PRC reported that the Taiwan Work Office of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) Central Committee had “announced sanction measures against diehard "Taiwan independence" separatist Bi-khim Hsiao.” The PRC labels Hsiao, and also presidential nominee Lai, as secessionists with the China Daily stating on 23 November that “Hsiao has been actively playing the role of political broker, inviting US politicians to visit Taiwan to endorse the DPP authorities' secessionist cause.” The inclusion of Hsiao in the presidential election, even as running mate to the DPP candidate, is a red flag to the Chinese Communists. The China Daily went on to state that “The duet of the two secessionists will gravely intensify cross-Strait tensions, and push the island into a dangerous predicament. Voters on the island should have no doubt that "Taiwan independence" means national reunification by force.” It is clear who the CCP united front activities will be targeting in the coming weeks.
The presidential election is due to be held on Saturday 13th January 2024, still another six weeks during which much can happen in Taiwan. We should expect more interference, more influencing operations, and to see more Triads such as the Bamboo Union supporting political parties.