Taiwan is looking into a potential disclosure of official records, including diplomatic cables and top-secret reports, regarding the island's delicate application to join a global trade agreement.
Without going into specifics, an official stated that preliminary research indicated that some of the documents, which were posted on the internet bulletin board 8kun, included authentic information. At the same time, other portions were falsified, according to Reuters.
Is China Involved?
A second officer stated that while they could not instantly establish the provenance of the documents uploaded online, they could tell that some documents appeared "authentic" in some places. The authorities requested anonymity owing to the sensitivity of the situation.
The inquiry into "suspected government documents" that were recently uploaded online was verified by Taiwan's National Security Bureau (NSB). The NSB declared that it was also looking into possible involvement from China, which claims Taiwan as its own.
The incident occurred at a crucial time for the island, which is seeking to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) trade pact despite opposition from China, which is also seeking to join and is scheduled to have elections early next year.
The online documents include what seems to be a confidential "security assessment" conducted on Taiwan's CPTPP candidacy in October by the country's main spy agency, the National Security Bureau.
They contain purported diplomatic cables from Taiwan's de facto embassies in Vietnam and Japan regarding Taiwan and China's CPTPP applications and another top-secret report from Taiwan's de facto embassy in Washington this year on its trade negotiations with the United States.
The CPTPP, a trade agreement between 11 nations (Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, and Vietnam), received applications from Taiwan and China in 2021. Britain intends to join as well.
Beijing has stated that it is adamantly opposed to Taiwan joining since Taiwan is a part of China and is, therefore, unable to do so on its own. However, Taiwan is a member of the World Trade Organization known by the names Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen, and Matsu.
Taiwan vehemently denies Chinese claims to sovereignty and asserts that only the people of Taiwan have the power to determine their future. As the island prepares for the January presidential election, concerns about breaches and cyberattacks are escalating.
President Tsai Ing-wen has repeatedly warned against China's attempts to sway public opinion before the election. Her ruling party is attempting to fend off a challenge from opposition parties promising closer ties with Beijing.
Taiwan vs. China
The relationship between Taiwan and China is one of the most sensitive and complex in the world. The two sides have been separated since 1949 when the Chinese Civil War ended with the Communist Party of China (CPC) taking control of mainland China and the Kuomintang (KMT) government fleeing to Taiwan.
The CPC has long claimed that Taiwan is part of its territory and has vowed to eventually "reunify" the island with the mainland by force if necessary. The KMT, on the other hand, maintains that Taiwan is a sovereign state and that the people of Taiwan have the right to self-determination.
In recent years, tensions between Taiwan and China have been rising. The CPC has stepped up its military activities around Taiwan and has made several provocative statements about the island. The KMT has also become more assertive in its defense of Taiwan and has begun to develop its indigenous defense capabilities.
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