Can Taiwan continue to fight off Chinese disinformation?

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Tsai has repeatedly addressed her government’s push to combat Beijing’s disinformation campaign, as well as criticism that her strategy aims to stifle speech from political opponents.

At a defense conference this month, she said: “We let the public have knowledge and tools that refute and report false or misleading information, and maintain a cautious balance between maintaining information freely and refusing information manipulation.”

Many Taiwanese have developed internal “warning bells” for suspicious narratives, said Melody Hsieh, who co-founded Fake News Cleaner, a group focused on information literacy education.

Her group has 22 lecturers and 160 volunteers teaching anti-disinformation tactics at universities, temples, fishing villages and elsewhere in Taiwan, sometimes using gifts like handmade soap to motivate participants.

The group is part of a robust collective of similar Taiwanese operations. There is Cofacts, whose fact-checking service is integrated into a popular social media app called Line. Doublethink Lab was directed until this month by Puma Shen, a professor who testified this year before the US-China Economic and Security Review Commission, an independent agency of the US government. MyGoPen is named after a homophone in the Taiwanese dialect for “don’t fool me again”.

Citizens have sought out fact-checking help, such as when a recent uproar over imported eggs raised questions about videos showing black and green yolks, Hsieh said. Such demand would have been unthinkable in 2018, when the heated emotions and damaging rumors around a contentious referendum inspired the founders of Fake News Cleaner.

“Now, everyone will stop and think: ‘This seems odd. Can you help me check this? We suspect something,’” Hsieh said. “This, I think, is an improvement.”

Still, fact-checking in Taiwan remains complicated. False claims swirled recently around Lai, an outspoken critic of Beijing, and his visit to Paraguay this summer.

Fact-checkers found that a memo at the center of one claim had been manipulated, with changed dates and dollar figures. Another claim originated on an English-language forum before a new account on X, formerly known as Twitter, quoted it in Mandarin in a post that was shared by a news website in Hong Kong and boosted on Facebook by a Taiwanese politician.

China’s disinformation work has had “measurable effects”, including “worsening Taiwanese political and social polarisation and widening perceived generational divides”, according to research from Rand Corp.

Concerns about election-related fake news drove the Taiwanese government last month to set up a dedicated task force.

Taiwan “has historically been Beijing’s testing ground for information warfare”, with China using social media to interfere in Taiwanese politics since at least 2016, according to Rand.

In August, Meta took down a Chinese influence campaign that it described as the largest such operation to date, with 7,704 Facebook accounts and hundreds of others across other social media platforms targeting Taiwan and other regions.

Beijing’s disinformation strategy continues to shift. Fact-checkers noted that Chinese agents were no longer distracted by pro-democracy demonstrations in Hong Kong, as they were during the last presidential election in Taiwan.

Now, they have access to artificial intelligence that can generate images, audio and video – “potentially a dream come true for Chinese propagandists”, said Nathan Beauchamp-Mustafaga, a Rand researcher.

A few months ago, an audio file that seemed to feature a rival politician criticising Lai circulated in Taiwan. The clip was almost certainly a deepfake, according to Taiwan’s Ministry of Justice and AI-detection company Reality Defender.

Chinese disinformation posts appear increasingly subtle and organic, rather than flooding the zone with obvious pro-Beijing messages, researchers said. Some false narratives are created by Chinese-controlled content farms, then spread by agents, bots or unwitting social media users, researchers say.

China has also tried to buy established Taiwanese social media accounts and may have paid Taiwanese influencers to promote pro-Beijing narratives, according to Rand.

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Taiwan’s Golden Horse film awards sees return of Chinese stars

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Beijing banned its entertainers from joining Golden Horse, dubbed the Chinese-language Oscars, after a Taiwanese director voiced support for the island’s independence in an acceptance speech in 2018.

China claims democratic Taiwan as its own territory and has long blacklisted its stars over any perceived backing for the island’s independence.

There were no mainland films in the 2019 nomination list and several Hong Kong movies dropped out that year, while big commercial productions were conspicuously absent at both the 2020 and 2021 awards.

But on Saturday, the red carpet was graced by Hu, nominated for best actress in the education drama Carp Leaping Over Dragon’s Gate.

Dressed in a shimmering gown holding a pineapple in her hands, she was accompanied by Chinese film director Yan Xiaolin and some of the film’s cast.

“Our film’s (Chinese) name is Pineapple and Taiwan’s audiences have told me that pineapple means good luck” in Taiwanese culture, Hu said in a brief televised interview.

Hu lost to Taiwan’s 12-year-old Audrey Lin (Trouble Girl), the night’s biggest dark horse who became the youngest ever best actress winner in Golden Horse history.

Lin also saw off Hong Kong’s Jennifer Yu (In Broad Daylight) and Chung Suet-ying (The Lyricist Wannabe), who both attended Saturday’s event.

Taiwanese Hsiao Ya-chuan bagged best director for his family drama Old Fox, while compatriot Wu Kang-ren claimed best actor for playing a mute man in the Malaysian film Abang Adik.

The award for best documentary short film went to The Memo, a video diary of the pandemic lockdown made by a filmmaker couple trapped in a small Shanghai apartment.

Attendance by the mainland Chinese actors was a departure from previous years.

In 2022, Chinese star Cya Liu – nominated for best actress for Hong Kong crime thriller Limbo – gave the ceremony a miss, with no reasons given.

Chinese director Huang Shuli collected the best documentary short film award in person last year – a rare appearance by a mainland filmmaker since the fallout.

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Climate protest: More than 100 arrested at world’s largest coal port

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An aerial shot of protestors spelling out we are the rising tideRising Tide
By Hannah Ritchie
BBC News, Sydney

A two-day blockade of the world’s largest coal port has triggered 109 arrests.

Hundreds of activists swam or used kayaks to occupy the Newcastle port’s shipping lane in Australia, to protest climate inaction.

They claim the disruption prevented over half a million tonnes of coal from leaving the country.

Australia is the world’s second biggest coal exporter and relies on the fossil fuel for its own electricity needs.

Located roughly 170 km (105 miles) from Sydney, the Port of Newcastle is the country’s most important terminal for coal shipments.

An estimated 3,000 people from across Australia took part in the 30-hour weekend blockade of its shipping lane, which had been approved by police.

But dozens of protesters remained in the water following the protest cut-off point – triggering 109 arrests, including five minors who were subsequently released.

On Monday, 104 people were charged over their refusal to leave the harbour channel, according to a statement from New South Wales police.

“I am doing this for my grandchildren and future generations,” said 97-year-old Alan Stuart, who defied the deadline.

“I am so sorry that they will have to suffer the consequences of our inaction. So, I think it is my duty to do what I can,” he added.

Rising Tide – which organised the action – has called it the “biggest act of civil disobedience for climate in Australia’s history”.

The protest took place just days ahead of COP28, the yearly global climate change summit, which begins in Dubai on Thursday.

The blockade

Rising Tide

Rising Tide says it wants Anthony Albanese’s government to tax thermal coal exports and cancel new fossil fuel projects.

Australia has long been considered a climate laggard, but Mr Albanese promised to “join the global effort” to curb emissions when taking office in 2022.

Since then, his government has enshrined into law an emissions reduction target of 43% by 2030, up from the nation’s previous commitment of 26-28%. That difference is equivalent to eliminating emissions from Australia’s entire transport or agriculture sectors.

But Mr Albanese has also refused to outlaw new fossil fuel projects completely – and has green lit four new coal mines since last May, with 25 more projects waiting for approval, according to the Australia Institute.

Anjali Beams, a 17-year-old school student from Adelaide who was one of the last protesters to leave the Newcastle shipping lane on Sunday, said she was risking arrest because Australia’s “decision makers have consistently ignored young people’s voices”.

“I will not be complicit in letting my future get sold away by the fossil fuel industry for their profit,” she added.

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Delhi pollution: Indian Supreme Court’s 40-year quest to clean foul air

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A view of Supreme Court in New DelhiGetty Images
By Umang Poddar
BBC News, Delhi

Pollution in India’s capital Delhi has made global headlines in recent years, but it’s not a new problem. For around four decades, the country’s top court has actively discussed the issue, sometimes passing orders that have significantly reshaped life in Delhi.

Its latest intervention came in early November, when the Supreme Court called for “immediate action” after air quality in the capital deteriorated to alarming levels.

The court heard arguments on measures implemented by the Delhi government to tackle the situation, from reducing stubble burning in the neighbouring states of Punjab and Haryana, to a proposal to allow motor vehicles only on alternate days, depending on whether the last number on their licence plates was odd or even.

The court left the decision of formulating these policies to the government – but last week, it pulled up authorities for not following its instructions to allocate funds for a rapid rail system, calling it a “gross breach of assurances”. The project aims to connect Delhi with its neighbouring cities through high-speed rail corridors to reduce vehicular pollution.

The top court also accused the Punjab state government of not doing enough to stop stubble burning and said that farmers in the state were being vilified due to its poor management of the problem.

The Supreme Court has often taken the lead in reforms to clean up Delhi’s air – some of its orders include rules on the kind of vehicles that should run in the city; the relocation of thousands of smoke-spewing factories; and the sealing of businesses to reduce emissions. It has also been lauded for making the government act, even when it was unwilling.

But critics have questioned the efficacy of the court’s decisions and accuse it of wading into executive action often. Some have also pointed out that despite reforms, pollution in the capital has only worsened over the past 40 years.

An Indian youth wearing a pollution mask participates in a march to raise awareness of air pollution levels in New Delhi on November 15, 2017.

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Shyam Divan, a senior lawyer, has recently wrote that India’s top court plays the role of a “policymaker, lawmaker, public educator and super administrator” all at once.

“In the US, they have the Congress, the Federal Environment Protection Agency and bags of money to protect the natural environment. Here, we have our Supreme Court,” he said.

However, the court’s defenders view it as a protector and a forum where problems can be solved collaboratively.

The top court first began hearing cases on Delhi pollution in 1984, when environmentalist MC Mehta filed a clutch of pleas on three main issues: rising vehicular pollution in Delhi, the impact of pollution on the iconic Taj Mahal, and the pollution of the rivers Ganga and Yamuna.

These pleas are still pending but the court has continued to add newer issues to these petitions – last year, the court clubbed together a plea on Delhi’s smog problem with an ongoing case on vehicular pollution.

Sometimes, the measures taken by the court have also been drastic.

In 1998, it ordered that the entire fleet of public transport vehicles which ran on diesel – estimated to be around 100,000 – switch to compressed natural gas, or CNG, by 2001.

People walk near India gate amid heavy dust and smog November 7, 2016 in Delhi

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Even though the government opposed the move, fines from the court and the fear of being held in contempt, ensured that the rule was followed.

In its order, the court has also waded into smaller details such as what type of vehicles should ply in Delhi – for instance, it froze the licences of tuk-tuk drivers for more than a decade.

The measures paid dividends, but only briefly. Studies have shown that the shift to CNG did help clean up Delhi’s air. However, experts say that these gains have been negated by the increase in the number of private vehicles in the city.

In his book Courting The People, lawyer Anuj Bhuwania, wrote that the order also adversely affected the lives of millions of workers employed in the public transport sector such as the tuk-tuk drivers, who never got the chance to present their side in court.

He says that the public interest litigation system in India, which was once considered one of the “most powerful weapons” to bring about societal change, has been taken over by a handful of lawyers and litigants who push for reforms while ignoring the interests of poor workers.

“At this point, if they [the court] washed their hands off it, we may not be worse off because they’ve done so much damage,” Mr Bhuwania told the BBC.

Indian people walk on a street as heavy smogs covers New Delhi on November 8, 2017

Getty Images

However, some judges believe that the court’s intervention is necessary and has often been successful.

PN Bhagwati, a former chief justice who heard the pollution cases and was instrumental in expanding the court’s role into policy-making, once said that “judicial activism” was “inevitable”.

Another former chief justice, KG Balakrishnan said that although the court’s decisions have caused inconvenience to many, the initial success of the CNG order showed that the judges were willing to take “unpopular decisions” to clean up the environment.

Some legal experts, however, say that while the court has been clear-eyed in its aim to clean up the city’s air, some of its decisions have been questionable.

In November 2019, the court directed the federal government to install smog towers, which work like large-scale air purifiers, in the capital. At the time, several experts told the BBC that there wasn’t enough scientific evidence to prove that these towers would curb air pollution. Four years later, the capital’s pollution control board also concluded that the towers had been ineffective.

However, not everyone is of the opinion that the Supreme Court has made matters worse.

Environment lawyer Shibani Ghosh says that some of the court’s interventions have had a positive impact on the ground.

But when it comes to enforcing new laws and enacting policies, it “has to allow the government to take the lead,” she added.

Ritwick Dutta, an expert in environmental law, says that lower courts or specialised tribunals could play an important role in enforcing the existing environmental laws.

India has at least a dozen other laws, aiming to protect forests, wildlife, water and noise pollution for more than four decades.

“Even the Supreme Court, which has taken the lead in Delhi, listens to the case only when pollution is at its peak in the city”, Mr Dutta said.

“But the moment the air quality improves, the cases are once again put on the backburner.”

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Shooting probe unearths macabre student gang

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Investigation reveals school rivalry is being used as a guise to hide criminal syndicates’ activities

Shooting probe unearths macabre student gang
MPB commander, Pol Maj Gen Theeradej Thamsuthee, and his team interrogate a suspect involved in the Klong Toey shooting incident. (Police photo)

At first glance, it looked like the Klong Toey shooting on Oct 11 was a revenge attack between technical students who study at rival vocational colleges but when the police team of the Metropolitan Police Bureau dug deep, they found the shooter and his partner were part of a crime syndicate comprised of at least 84 members.

“It was organised crime. We believe about 10 people were involved. They have teams to plan, monitor students from the rival school, survey the area, help them escape, give legal advice and even finance their crimes,” Pol Maj Gen Theeradej Thamsuthee, commander of the MPB’s Investigation Division, told the Bangkok Post in an exclusive interview.

Pol Maj Gen Theeradej is leading the investigation into the incident near the Sacred Heart Convent School on Sunthon Kosa Road, where two men opened fire on a group of students amid an argument.

One shot missed the intended target and struck Sirada Sinprasert, a 45-year-old teacher queuing up to use a bank’s ATM on Sunthon Kosa Road.

Sirada, who taught at the school, died at the scene, while Thanasorn Hongsawat, 19, the target, was severely wounded and died later in hospital.

According to Pol Maj Gen Theeradej, the gang’s activities extend beyond just inter-school rivalry as it also trains young students or former students to be killers.

“At least 84 people were identified as being members of the network. Police are considering who to arrest, and will target the network’s financiers,” said Pol Maj Gen Theeradej.

Officers specialising in drug-related crime are also helping to track down the financial sources behind the network.

After reviewing footage from more than 1,000 CCTV cameras in the vicinity, the two suspects were spotted lifting their motorcycle onto a cargo van before it was driven to another location.

The bike was later spotted in another part of the country having been repainted from red to blue.

Police received reports that the repainting occurred in an abandoned area of bushland on the outskirts of Ayutthaya’s Bang Sai district following the discovery of discarded blue and red spray paint canisters.

Pol Maj Gen Theeradej instructed his team to review old cases of shootings between the two technical colleges which led them to send a team to a house that a group of technical college students rented in Wong Sawang Soi 19 in Bangkok’s Pracha Chuen area.

After putting the soi under surveillance, officers spotted the cargo van, along with a sedan and other motorcycles belonging to the suspected killers and were able to identify a further five suspects they believed were involved.

Armed with arrest warrants, police raided six locations, including the house in Wong Sawang 19, an apartment in Bangkok’s Rong Muang area, and houses in Pathum Thani and Nonthaburi, two weeks after the shooting.

In total, police rounded up eight individuals, all aged 20-23 years old. Some had records of involvement in other shootings, including the death of a vocational student of Uthenthawai killed near the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences building of Chulalongkorn University in January this year.

Another one was linked to a shooting spree at the wedding of an alumna of Uthenthawai in Bangkok in August last year which left one dead and four injured. All denied any involvement,

“They gave us the same answer that ‘They don’t know. They were not involved’ and kept their mouths shut,” he said.

The shooter and the motorcycle rider are still at large.

Pol Maj Gen Theeradej said his team found the rented house in Wong Sawang Soi 19 was a base for the gang. Police called it a “safe house” where senior students brainwashed juniors into killing students from rival schools.

“The training had levels starting from basic to advanced including learning how to track targets,” added Pol Maj Gen Theeradej.

Police also found a picture of a Pathumwan student shot dead in April which “They used to stimulate hate and revenge”.

Line group chat logs in which gang members congratulated the killers were confiscated during a police raid, along with uniforms, the cargo van, memory cards, two “ping-pong” explosives, and mobile phones.

Officers also discovered a .38 handgun bullet case inside the van, but no gun.

The rider is also believed to be of a higher rank because it was he who ordered the shooter to fire more shots at victims, he said.

“The gang even has its own ranks and uses symbols to show their position. We found several of the suspects had brandings made by metal gears on their bodies. One had four such scars on his arm which we believe represents the top rank,” he said.

“This is no longer just fighting between rival institutions, but a crime organisation comprised of both former and current students,” he said.

Pol Maj Gen Theeradej says further arrests will follow and the gang and its donors will be brought to justice.

Theeradej: Hunting gang’s financiers

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PM orders ministry to ramp up war against online fraud

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PM orders ministry to ramp up war against online fraud
Cyber Crime Investigation Bureau officers examine evidence seized from a call centre scam gang after a raid in August. (Photo: Varuth Hirunyatheb)

Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin has instructed the Digital Economy and Society (DES) Ministry to ramp up its crackdown on online fraud and call centre scams, after he was targeted by a scammer himself.

“Some messaged, while others called, even greeting me by my full name, so I just ignored them,” he said.

He urged the public to heed the advice from the DES Ministry on ways to avoid falling victim to such scams, which are growing more complex and sophisticated. They are also taking up increasing amounts of police time as they track down those responsible.

To help those who have been defrauded by online scammers, the government has set up a hotline through which victims can file a report and seek a recourse. The hotline is 1441 inside Thailand.

Separately, the DES Ministry said it is expediting its investigation into reports which claimed the government’s database containing the personal information of millions of Thai citizens has been hacked and its contents sold online.

A report last year said the personal data of some 30 million Thai citizens could be bought on RaidForums.

“The claim could be just an exaggeration, as that has happened in the past,” DES Minister Prasert Chantararuangthong said.

He said the Office of the Personal Data Protection Commission (PDPC), the National Cyber Security Agency (NCSA) and the Cyber Crime Investigation Bureau (CCIB) have been assigned to work together to deal with the issue.

The ministry is also looking into novel ways of detecting a scam before it takes place, he said, saying mobile network providers can flag a SIM card which is being used to make huge amounts of calls in a short period of time, which scammers usually do, he said.

Mr Prasert also said the ministry has drawn up a strategy to help combat online fraud and call centre scams.

For the short-term, the PDPC has set up a surveillance centre called PDPC Eagle Eye, which will keep an eye on signs of a possible leak of personal information, he said.

Between Nov 9-20, the centre reviewed the internal procedure for handling personal data of 3,119 government agencies and private organisations — 1,158 of which were found to be inadequate.

These organisations have been asked to address the issues, he said, adding that as of Sunday, 781 have followed the advice and corrected their mistakes.

More importantly, the PDPC detected at least three cases of personal information of people being stolen and sold illegally to other parties, he said.

While legal action is being pursued against parties found involved in the three cases, the PDPC Eagle Eye centre is conducting a more intensive inspection of around 9,000 organisations to look for signs of more abuses and misuse of personal information, he said.

“The government takes the hunt for the people behind the illegal sale of personal information of others seriously and vows to bring them to justice.

“In cases where the culprits are known to be in other countries, the police will seek Interpol’s assistance,” he said.

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‘Not possible’ to offer fixed prices for funerals as customers have different demands: Funeral parlours

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DIFFICULT TO FIX PRICE OF FUNERALS

Funeral directors CNA spoke to – who were not part of the association – echoed Mr Hoo’s point on the diversity of client’s requirements, which made it challenging to list package prices. 

Those who did list prices on their websites said that these were “standard” or “basic” packages, with extra costs likely to be incurred with add-ons. 

Funeral director Vincent Ng pointed out that funeral arrangements were “quite personalised”. 

“Many times, the family of the deceased added items to the standard packages during the process which resulted in actual payment differing from website prices,” the founder of funeral parlour A.LifeGrad said.

Costs may also change as the wake progresses. For example, the company provides clothes for bereaved family members. But some customers request more clothes for changing and exceed the amount provided, resulting in additional costs, Mr Ng said. 

“Drinks are also included based on a fixed number of packets. However, consumption may increase if they have a lot of visitors. All these are also chargeable. You can’t really say that the ultimate price differs from the quote as all these are additional items,” he said. 

Another funeral director Eugene Tan agreed, saying: “It really is not possible to have an all-in-one inclusive package because of the customisation.

“We try to be as transparent as we can. The way I design my packages is everything that can be expected, I have already included it. But there are some things we cannot expect until we meet the client,” said Mr Tan, who is the founder of Empathy Funeral Service. 

Both Empathy Funeral Service and A.LifeGrad list the prices of the packages offered on their websites, along with a catalogue of what the package includes. A.LifeGrad even goes so far as to list what is excluded. 

Passion Bereavement Care’s funeral director Deborah Kang said that while she understands and agrees with the study’s findings, these practices are due to the nature of the funeral industry. 

“One reason funeral service providers might be reluctant to disclose package prices in advance on websites is that services often need to be customised based on the specific needs of the client,” she said. 

Instead of listing prices, she prefers talking directly to the client to give them an accurate price based on their needs. 

PROBLEMS WITH LISTING PRICES

Even with packages listed on their website, Mr Tan said some clients do not read the listing or focus only on the price. 

“Even if they do read it … I don’t think (they) understand the things that are inside,” he said. “I tell you that this is a Buddhist table and set up, then you’re like okay. Do you really know what it means? You don’t really know.” 

He cautioned customers against going for the cheapest funeral package when comparing prices between providers. These often come with additional costs that are not listed, he said.  

If the funeral director fails to inform customers of possible additional costs, that would be a red flag, Mr Tan said, as it is very likely that packages listed only include basic products. 

Basic products for a Buddhist funeral package, for example, include tentage, tables, chairs, chanting by monks and offerings, but may exclude post-cremation services. 

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‘Why would they build another one?’: Indonesia ramps up clean energy while adding coal power plants

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Indonesia should focus on renewable energy to meet its future electricity needs, argued Mr Putra Adhiguna of the US-based think tank, Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA).

“Our electricity system is currently too reliant on coal-fired power plants, which already creates an oversupply and in turn creates a disincentive for our electricity provider, PLN, to add more capacity,” he said, referring to Indonesia’s state-owned firm, Perusahaan Listrik Negara.

Another factor “hindering Indonesia’s energy transition efforts”, he said, is the price cap on coal.

Depending on its quality, Indonesia’s energy and mineral resources ministry caps the price of coal for electricity production at US$70 per tonne. The PLN estimates that this year, Indonesia would need 161 million tonnes of coal to feed its power plants. 

The coal price cap makes it difficult for renewable energy to compete. In some countries, the levelised cost of solar energy over a 25- to 30-year life cycle is cheaper than fossil fuels, but that is not the case yet in Indonesia because of the artificial price ceiling for coal.

According to the Jakarta-based think tank Institute for Essential Services Reform (IESR), the levelised cost of electricity from solar is 5.79 US cents per kilowatt hour, while that from coal is 5.68 US cents, making it the cheapest source of energy in the country.

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