Airwave Infiltration
Chinese propaganda broadcasts from Fujian People’s Broadcasting Station (福建人民廣播電台) — a station under the state-run Fujian Radio Film and TV Group — have infiltrated Taiwan’s airwaves with unprecedented clarity, according to recent reports in the Liberty Times (自由時報). PRC programming has managed to reach even remote mountain areas, including the 2,000-meter-high Daxueshan Forest Recreation Area (大雪山森林遊樂區). The FM 96.7 frequency, normally reserved for Taiwan’s Uni Radio (環宇廣播), which reaches audiences in the Taoyuan, Hsinchu and Miaoli areas, now carries Beijing-directed content throughout the eastern districts of Taichung, the country’s second-largest city.
Due to distance, it’s generally difficult to receive a clear signal from Uni Radio in the Taichung area, and frequencies without broadcasts from a major station can be considered open channels that smaller local stations can occupy to air their programming. Lawmakers in Taiwan have demanded a swift investigation into possible domestic collaboration with actors from China, as well as enhanced countermeasures against what officials describe as an escalating cognitive warfare campaign targeting Taiwan’s airwaves.
More information on China’s infiltration of Taiwan radio frequencies can be found in this April 2023 report from the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC).
