Taiwan AI Lab Founder: China's "Rely on China" Narrative is Core to Cognitive Warfare

Ethan Tu, founder of Taiwan's Artificial Intelligence Lab, asserts that China's United Front employs a highly consistent narrative strategy to erode Taiwanese confidence. He believes that understanding this core message, "Taiwan is not a country, it can only rely on China," is crucial for identifying the true aim of cognitive warfare.

Tu explained that this narrative is applied across various domains, including diplomacy, vaccine procurement, citizen evacuations, and even combating transnational crime. He contends that these efforts are not merely about Taiwan's international standing but are designed to weaken the self-belief of the Taiwanese people.

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Taiwan is not a country, it can only rely on China.

He pointed to the Olympics as an example, where the narrative suggests Taiwan must use the "Chinese Taipei" designation because it is "not a country." Tu countered this by referencing historical participation under "Taiwan" and "Republic of China." Similarly, during the pandemic, the narrative claimed Taiwan "can only buy BNT vaccines through China," while Tu clarified that direct procurement and other international mechanisms were used for major vaccines like AstraZeneca and Moderna.

Tu also addressed evacuation scenarios, stating that the narrative falsely implies Taiwan "can only rely on China for evacuations." He argued that evacuation decisions depend on specific needs, flight conditions, and safety risks, not solely on Chinese assistance. Furthermore, regarding transnational crime, he noted that while China is sometimes involved, the narrative oversimplifies complex criminal networks to push the "rely on China" message.

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understanding this point is key to identifying what cognitive warfare is truly targeting, which is not Taiwan's real international status, but the confidence of the Taiwanese people in themselves.