Disinformation about Taiwan in Spain
Key information
- Date
- Time
-
6:00 pm to 8:00 pm
- Venue
- Main Building, SOAS University of London, 10 Thornhaugh St, London WC1H 0XG
- Room
- R201
About this event
The talk will present the framework in which disinformation about Taiwan in Spain has been spreading for decades.
Madrid does not have its own ‘one China’ policy, but assimilated Beijing´s ‘one China’ principle back in 1973 on the Joint Declaration establishing diplomatic relations with the PRC. Nevertheless, Spain official statements maintain its position aligns with the European Union´s ‘one China’ policy. This contradiction comes at a time when Beijing is waging a narrative war in the international arena by misrepresenting both ‘one China’ concepts, and by maliciously distorting United Nations General Assembly Resolution 2758.
I will be also briefly analysing two incidents as case studies on how disinformation about Taiwan in Spain has international implications and consequences for Taiwanese citizens.
The first incident concerns extradition of about 300 Taiwanese nationals from Spain to China when Madrid approved Beijing´s request in 2017 implementing the extradition treaty the two countries signed in 2006. Spain is the only Western democracy to have ever extradited Taiwan citizens to the PRC. The second incident involved EU´s ambassador to China, Spanish José Toledo Albiñana, when on a symposium in July 2022 he said since “China and Taiwan are one country, Spain, the EU and the US believe and defend the eventual unification must be by peaceful means”.
Albiñana was presenting Spain´s position on Taiwan as if it were the EU´s or the US´, which clearly is not. While the EU diplomat made this comment after being appointed but before assuming his new role in Beijing, his remarks provoked a backlash in Taipei, was rejected by the European parliament, and Europe´s foreign affairs High Representative office had to point out that Albiñana was not yet acting in his official capacity.
(Image via Jiachen Lin on Unsplash)
Meet the speaker
Shiany Pérez-Cheng is a Bachelor of Law (LLB) graduate at the University of Salamanca in Spain, she holds a master’s degree (MA) in International Relations by the University of Kent in Canterbury, United Kingdom, and an Advanced Studies Diploma (pre-doc) in EU Law and Politics, by the University of Salamanca. She was awarded with Taiwan National Science Council´s Summer Program grant for post-grand researchers at Academia Sinica´s Institute of European and American Studies as hosting institution, and with the Taiwan Fellowship at the National Taiwan University´s Department of Political Sciences as host institution.
During her research visits, Ms. Pérez-Cheng has been invited by several Taiwanese academic institutions to discuss issues concerning security and defense in the Indo-Pacific, and China´s cognitive warfare. She has also lectured in, now extinguished, Taiwan Studies at the master program in East Asia Studies, University of Salamanca. And as an analyst on China´s propaganda, disinformation,and influence operations Ms. Pérez-Cheng has worked in projects like Freedom House´s Beijing global media reach out.
