Description
This paper examines China’s (PRC’s) narratives on the repression of Uyghurs in Taiwan in order to contribute to understanding how authoritarian regimes attempt to protect their external legitimacy. The Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) efforts to justify the repression in Xinjiang can be understood as a form of foreign interference, as they deliberately seek to influence attitudes in Taiwan in line with the interests of the CCP. This research focuses primarily on China’s ability to reinforce conformity among target audiences. Rather than concentrating on the mechanisms of narrative dissemination, which are relatively well studied, the study investigates the extent to which these narratives penetrate the perceptions of Taiwanese audiences. The main method will be quantitative analysis of a survey of a representative sample of Taiwanese society. The questions will focus on media consumption habits, perception of the legitimacy of the Chinese government, perception of the treatment of ethnic minorities in China, and perception of international pressure concerning China. The results will be analysed through multiple linear regression, with the predictor being a pro-CCP media consumption index, and the outcome variables being a pro-CCP narrative index, legitimacy index, and conformity index. This will be supplemented with several expert interviews to understand causal mechanisms.
