Taipei, Taiwan – For a man associated with organised crime, election interference, and Chinese influence operations, Chang An-lo is adamant that he is on a mission of peace. Widely known as the ‘White Wolf,’ Chang is the founder of the Chinese Unification Promotion Party (CUPP), which advocates for Taiwan’s ‘reunification’ with China. Taiwan, a democracy of 23 million people, has been administered separately from the Chinese mainland for over a century, first as a Japanese colony and then as the ‘Republic of China,’ whose government fled to the island in the 1940s at the end of the Chinese Civil War. Taiwan’s political landscape is deeply complex, with a history of strained relations with China, marked by periods of independence and subsequent incorporation into the Chinese mainland. Taiwan’s Ministry of the Interior has branded Chang and the CUPP as a threat to the ‘Republic of China’ and the constitutional order of freedom and democracy. Taiwan’s President William Lai Ching-te has been widely criticized for pushing for Taiwanese independence, a position Chang fiercely denies. Chang’s position is not a popular one in Taiwan, despite the island’s deep cultural and historical ties with China. Taiwan’s history has seen a pattern of political instability, with at least eleven CUPP members investigated or prosecuted for violating national security laws, including offenses against the Organised Crime Prevention Act. The CUPP’s founding in the mid-2000s has coincided with a period of increased Chinese investment and political influence in Taiwan, often interpreted as a deliberate attempt to destabilize the island’s political system. To his critics, Chang’s views are not just offensive, but potentially treasonous. ‘The meaning of ‘rise up at the front line, don’t be cannon fodder’ isn’t only saying don’t resist the Chinese,’ Lai Chung-Chiang, a Taiwanese lawyer and human rights activist, told Al Jazeera. It’s saying don’t be loyal to Taiwan’s democratically elected government. Taiwan’s Ministry of the Interior has branded the CUPP a threat to the ‘existence of the Republic of China and the constitutional order of freedom and democracy.’ Last week, the ministry submitted a request to the Taiwan Constitutional Court formally seeking the party’s dissolution. The government’s case rests on allegations that the CUPP accepted instructions from Beijing to develop grassroots influence operations, recruit current and former military officers to spy for China, and used Chinese funding to interfere in elections, among other wrongdoing. Since the CUPP’s founding in the mid-2000s, at least 11 party members have been investigated or prosecuted for violating national security, anti-infiltration or election laws, according to Interior Ministry data. The ministry says that dozens of CUPP members have also committed other non-national security-related crimes over the past 20 years, including offences against the Organised Crime Prevention Act. Asked about Chang’s work with the United Front Work Department, which oversees China’s political influence operations, Chang said he was ‘fully on board with the United Front.’ He said anyone engaging in criminal activity would be expelled from the party. Chang sidestepped a question about whether he works for China’s United Front Work Department, which oversees China’s political influence operations, but expressed support for its work. “For the peace and happiness of the people on both sides of the Strait, I am fully on board with the United Front,” he said.” Al Jazeera could not independently verify his claims. Multiple CUPP members have been investigated for ties to the Bamboo Union, one of Taiwan’s most famous criminal syndicates, founded in the 1950s by the children of Chinese emigres. Chang, born in China, acknowledges that he was a senior member of the Bamboo Union in his youth, but told Al Jazeera that he left in 1968. In the 1980s and 1990s, Chang spent 10 years in a United States federal prison on drug trafficking charges. After being deported to Taiwan following his release from prison, Chang returned to Taiwan in 2013, when he was arrested at the airport on allegations of violating the Organised Crime Prevention Act. Prosecutors later dropped all charges against him. Since then, Chang has rebranded himself as a Chinese nationalist and the public face of the CUPP. China has accused Taiwan’s government of suppressing ‘political dissent’ with its bid to ban the party. “Advocating for reunification and opposing secessionist attempts are justified and legitimate, as they conform to the overall interests of the Chinese nation and the prevailing trend of history,” Chen Binhua, a spokesperson for the Taiwan Affairs Office in Beijing, said during a media briefing last week. The Chinese embassy in Washington, DC, did not respond to Al Jazeera’s request for comment. Pu-chao Hung, a Taiwanese political scientist, said the dissolution of the CUPP would be a largely symbolic win for Taipei. With or without the CUPP, Chinese influence operations will continue, Hung said. “China’s political operations in Taiwan rely on multiple local nodes, and those involved can move into associations, civic groups or other organisations,” he said. Chang said the former British colony, where Beijing has tightened its control since mass pro-democracy protests in 2019, could serve as a framework for Taiwan’s ‘peaceful’ reunification with China. “I believe the best way forward is to sit down and talk. As early as 1978 … the mainland proposed very favourable conditions for unification – stating that as long as both sides sat down to negotiate, even the national anthem, flag and name could be discussed,” Chang said.” Chang said the former British colony, where Beijing has tightened its control since mass pro-democracy protests in 2019, could serve as a framework for Taiwan’s ‘peaceful’ reunification with China. “I believe the best way forward is to sit down and talk. As early as 1978 … the mainland proposed very favourable conditions for unification – stating that as long as both sides sat down to negotiate, even the national anthem, flag and name could be discussed,” Chang said.” The CUPP has no representatives in the national legislature, with its only elected members being two neighbourhood wardens, known as lizhang, in New Taipei City and Miaoli County. Al Jazeera could not independently verify his claims. Multiple CUPP members have been investigated for ties to the Bamboo Union, one of Taiwan’s most famous criminal syndicates, founded in the 1950s by the children of Chinese emigres. Chang, born in China, acknowledges that he was a senior member of the Bamboo Union in his youth, but told Al Jazeera that he left in 1968. In the 1980s and 1990s, Chang spent 10 years in a United States federal prison on drug trafficking charges. With or without the CUPP, Chinese influence operations will continue, Hung said. “China’s political operations in Taiwan rely on multiple local nodes, and those involved can move into associations, civic groups or other organisations,” he said. Chang said the former British colony, where Beijing has tightened its control since mass pro-democracy protests in 2019, could serve as a framework for Taiwan’s ‘peaceful’ reunification with China. “I believe the best way forward is to sit down and talk. As early as 1978 … the mainland proposed very favourable conditions for unification – stating that as long as both sides sat down to negotiate, even the national anthem, flag and name could be discussed,” Chang said.” Al Jazeera could not independently verify his claims. Pu-chao Hung, a Taiwanese political scientist, said the dissolution of the CUPP would be a largely symbolic win for Taipei. With or without the CUPP, Chinese influence operations will continue, Hung said. “China’s political operations in Taiwan rely on multiple local nodes, and those involved can move into associations, civic groups or other organisations,” he said. “China’s political operations in Taiwan rely on multiple local nodes, and those involved can move into associations, civic groups or other organisations,” he said.” The CUPP has no representatives in the national legislature, with its only elected members being two neighbourhood wardens, known as lizhang, in New Taipei City and Miaoli County. Al Jazeera could not independently verify his claims. The dissolution of the CUPP would be a largely symbolic win for Taipei. With or without the CUPP, Chinese influence operations will continue, Hung said. Chang said the former British colony, where Beijing has tightened its control since mass pro-democracy protests in 2019, could serve as a framework for Taiwan’s ‘peaceful’ reunification with China. “I believe the best way forward is to sit down and talk. As early as 1978 … the mainland proposed very favourable conditions for unification – stating that as long as both sides sat down to negotiate, even the national anthem, flag and name could be discussed,” Chang said. The CUPP has no representatives in the national legislature, with its only elected members being two neighbourhood wardens, known as lizhang, in New Taipei City and Miaoli County. Al Jazeera could not independently verify his claims. Pu-chao Hung, a Taiwanese political scientist, said the dissolution of the CUPP would be a largely symbolic win for Taipei. With or without the CUPP, Chinese influence operations will continue, Hung said. “China’s political operations in Taiwan rely on multiple local nodes, and those involved can move into associations, civic groups or other organisations,” he said. “China’s political operations in Taiwan rely on multiple local nodes, and those involved can move into associations, civic groups or other organisations,” he said.”
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Source: Al Jazeera
