00:00Here, the owner of a Taiwanese tea company wins an award at an international tea competition in
00:05France. As he steps up to accept it, Taiwan's flag is shown on the screen behind him,
00:11angering some in the crowd. It's not clear if these people are connected to the Chinese government,
00:19and China's foreign ministry did not respond for a request for comment. But this is a government
00:24line. China claims Taiwan as its territory, calling it a province, and does not like when its flag or
00:31name is shown in any international setting. But Taiwan rejects China's territorial claims,
00:37and in response to this incident, its foreign ministry had a clear message.
00:54This is just one recent instance of Taiwanese citizens facing harassment or pressure from
01:14the Chinese government or its supporters while abroad. It's happened multiple times just in
01:19the last few months. In September, Taiwan's foreign ministry says a planned exhibition by several
01:25Taiwanese artists in Kazakhstan was suddenly canceled due to pressure from China. And in July,
01:31after Taiwan's men's taekwondo team won silver at a World University Games in Germany, two Chinese
01:37people appear to try to snatch a congratulatory letter Taiwan's government had written to them
01:42out of their hands to see if it's said Chinese Taipei or Taiwan creating this tense situation.
01:52One analyst says these types of incidents are part of China's cognitive warfare against Taiwan.
01:57I think because they try to say, you know, Taiwan is pursuing Taiwan independence. So we want to get a lot of,
02:08you know, international attention. So that's why they try to spray, they try to say, oh, this is not right. So they do have
02:17cognitive warfare, the kind of program around the world, because they try to say, no, Taiwan is part of China. So
02:26so even for this kind of cultural events, they try to do this.
02:30This kind of pressure comes on top of China's military incursions around Taiwan, and its constant pressure on the
02:37country's government officials, as well as its diplomatic allies, seeking to isolate Taiwan from the
02:42international community in any way that it can. Eason Chen, Cadence Coronta, and Irene Lin for Taiwan Plus.
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