Legislator Gao Jin Sumei was indicted for taking Chinese capital to develop an organization. During the interrogation, she said that most of her affairs with China were handled by her aide Zhang Junjie. She complained about injustice on Facebook and was "politically pursued". The Kuomintang also stated that it would be her strongest support. However, according to the investigation, on national defense issues such as the volcano mining system and the extension of compulsory service, Gaojin has repeatedly made films to echo the tone set by the Chinese Communist Party’s official media, and even proposed a purchase ban in the Legislative Yuan. The pace of political inquiry is highly overlapped with China’s.
Anti-volcano mining system and compulsory service extension case echo the CCP
On December 28, 2022, the U.S. government announced the sale of the Volcano vehicle-mounted mine-laying system to Taiwan. The Chinese Communist Party's Taiwan-related official media "China Taiwan Net" immediately issued an article on the 30th of the same month. Although it stated that the purchase was for anti-tank mines, it deliberately focused on "the self-destruction device may fail and endanger the safety of residents," setting the tone that the United States would "fire" and the Taiwanese people would bear the consequences of the war.
Only six days later, on January 5 of the following year, Gaojin released the video "It is a ghost, it is a god, Satan and God are both the United States." It first quoted the Department of Defense's statement that these landmines were anti-tank mines and were not targeted at personnel. Then it cited Cambodia's mine hazards and asked whether the United States would push Taiwan into "mine hell." It also used US$180 million to assist Cambodia in demining and sell mines to Taiwan, creating a contradictory impression that the United States is "clearing mines on the one hand and mines on the other."
National security sources pointed out that the volcano system is used for anti-landing operations, can quickly lay mines along the route of enemy armored units, and has a timed self-destruct function; the mine hazards in Cambodia are anti-personnel mines and unexploded bombs left over from the war. Goldman Gold has cited the differences between the two, but still opposes the procurement due to post-war mine hazards, which is obviously deliberate confusion.
The Volcano case is not an isolated case. In August 2021, the US military withdrew from Afghanistan. The Chinese Communist Party's official media promoted that "the United States regards Taiwan as a pawn and arms sales are only for profit." Gold & Gold later released the "Afghan Apocalypse" video, which reiterated its anti-arms purchase stance and questioned whether Taiwan should trust the United States and continue to invest in arms purchases.
In addition, the Tsai administration announced at the end of 2022 that compulsory military service would be restored to one year, and China immediately amplified the argument that "the United States forced Taiwan to extend military service, turning young people into cannon fodder." In March of the following year, Gao Jin alleged during an inquiry at the Legislative Yuan that "the United States requested an extension of military service, and Taiwan subsequently adjusted the service period," linking the extension of military service, arms purchases, and the "Taiwan Scholars Program" as examples of U.S. intervention in Taiwan.
