United Daily News Publishes “Nanhai Meeting”, “US-Taiwan Bio-agent” Falsehoods Echoing Long-running PRC-Russia Information Manipulation Regarding “US Bio-weapon”

Summary

• Since July 9^th, 2023, Taiwan’s UDN published multiple reports in the VIP and public sections of its website, as well as in print claiming that Taiwan government cooperated with US “demand” to “setup P4 lab” and “develop bio-agent” based on “meeting minutes” of “Nanhai Work Meeting” in June 2022.
• On September 5^th, 2023, Taiwan Taipei District Prosecutors Office concluded after investigation that the “meeting minutes” were forged and the claim that “US demanded Taiwan to develop bio-agent” is false. (CNA)
• In 2019 at the latest, narratives on Taiwan, Ukraine, US “development” or “use” of “bio-weapon” or “bio-agent” have appeared in the Mandarin IE.
• Bio-weapon TDL in the Mandarin IE was at its highest during the first stage of the Russian full-scale invasion of Ukraine in March 2022.
• TDL at UDN’s “Nanhai Meeting” incident in July 2023 was the highest among Taiwanese news, second highest among Taiwanese social media and PRC state media Douyin accounts. Similar trends between Taiwanese social media and PRC state media on Douyin could be a signal of PRC amplification of the incident.
• TDL peaks at the document forgery announcement by Prosecution in September was 31-48% compared with TDL peaks in July.
• Since 2019, PRC has amplified Russian, Iranian governmental and military sources to accuse the US and its allies of building labs for development, or usage of bio-weapons in many parts of the world. Such narratives can be categorized as Collusion or Chaos narratives of US Skepticism. (IORG)
• Since 2020, PRC governmental agencies and state media have at various times accused US bio-labs for producing or leaking COVID-19, anthrax, Mpox (monkeypox) pathogens as bio-weapons.
• PRC mentions of bio-labs in Ukraine can be found in January 2019, while amplification of Russian governmental and state media sources has persisted thereafter. Taiwan’s UDN has shown similar behavior in amplifying Russian state media in December 2021, which would justify Russia’s invasion.
• Within one month after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, PRC governmental and state media repeatedly amplified Russian governmental and military sources and accused the US and Ukraine for developing bio-weapons in justification of Russia’s aggression.
• Since 2020, conspiracy theories about US making bio-weapons “targeting specific races”, “targeting Chinese people”, “targeting Russian (Slavic) people” have circulated in Mandarin IE, implicating COVID-19 viruses, vaccines, and Taiwan’s Precision Medicine Initiative, hosted at Academia Sinica. Such narratives are appealing to fear, escalating conflict, and legitimizing Russia’s invasion against Ukraine, and PRC’s annexation of Taiwan.
• PRC governmental agencies or state media could spread conspiracy theories linking future major public health events (coronavirus, Mpox, wartime epidemics, etc.) to US bio-labs and bio-weapons. Reader discretion is advised.

Full version of this report is available in Taiwanese Mandarin. Please visit iorg.tw/da/43 or switch language to Mandarin.