US Should Investigate Alleged Chinese Intervention In Taiwan's Election - Senators

NEW YORK (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 19th December, 2018) The Trump administration should look into allegations that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) interfered in Taiwan's recent local elections, six US senators said in a letter published on Tuesday.

"We encourage you to work closely with Taiwan authorities to thoroughly investigate these allegations and, if necessary, take swift action to deter future CCP interference in elections in Taiwan or elsewhere across the globe," the senators wrote in their letter to US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and other national security leaders. "Allegations such as those surrounding Taiwan's recent elections must therefore be pursued with seriousness and urgency."

The letter, signed by both Republicans and Democrats, noted that Taiwan authorities have alleged that the CCP attempted to influence the local election results in its favor by using illegal funds and disinformation spread through social media to promote pro-Beijing political candidates.

In October, Taiwan officials stated that they were conducting investigations on 33 cases of alleged Chinese funding to Taiwan political campaigns. If proven true, these donations would be considered a violation of Taiwan's Political Donations Act and the Act Governing Relations Between the People of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area, the letter said.

The letter was signed by Senators Catherine Cortez Masto, Marco Rubio, Christopher Coons, Cory Gardner, Michael Bennet and Ted Cruz, and was addressed to Pompeo, Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and FBI Director Christopher Wray.

In November, Taiwan held its local elections, which resulted in the defeat of previously ruling the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and the victory of the Kuomintang (KMT), the former ruling party that leans toward Chinese nationalist ideology.

The political status of Taiwan remains controversial due to the Chinese Civil War that split China into the two self-governing entities of the People's Republic of China (China) and the Republic of China (Taiwan). China views Taiwan as a breakaway province that should reunify with the mainland in the future.

Relations between China and Taiwan have worsened since Taiwan became a democracy in the early 1990s and started asserting its own identity.