It’s “not worth it” for Taiwanese citizens to get Chinese ID cards for money, Lai Ching-te said in his first New Year’s Day speech as president of Taiwan, officially known as the Republic of China.
The remark came as Taiwanese authorities are investigating a claim that at least 100,000 citizens are holding ID cards issued by communist-ruled mainland China, officially known as the People’s Republic of China (PRC).
The middleman in the video said the scheme is designed specifically for Taiwanese citizens, adding that Hong Kong residents can’t enjoy the same perk because the former British colony has already been handed to the PRC.
Hong Kong “is no longer useful” for the CCP, he said.
Another middleman said that at least 100,000 Taiwanese citizens hold ID cards meant for PRC citizens.
The video is the second part of a two-part documentary in which Taiwanese rapper Chen Po-yuan and a cameraman went undercover to expose how the CCP’s United Front Work Department (UFWD) targets Taiwan.
Commenting on the claim in his New Year’s Day speech, Lai said: “There is an expression in Taiwan: ‘Free things are the most expensive.’ If anyone wants to go to China to get ID cards, it’s not worth it, no matter how you look at it.
“[The PRC] can have exchanges and co-operations with Taiwan in the open; there’s no need to use these schemes.
“That in no way helps to improve cross-strait exchanges and cooperation or to secure the trust of the people of Taiwan. Taking all kinds of measures that specifically target Taiwan, is that really an expression of goodwill towards Taiwan?”
The CCP claims sovereignty over Taiwan, although it has never ruled over the island. The CCP claims that Taiwan is a province of the PRC and does not recognize Taiwan’s elected officials.
Under Taiwanese law, the island’s citizens are not allowed to enter the PRC’s civil register nor hold a PRC passport. Offenders could lose their Taiwanese citizenship.
The PRC does not recognize dual citizenship. According to one of the middlemen, a Chinese official told him that Taiwanese citizens are free to apply for PRC ID cards because they are considered PRC citizens.
However, the CCP would allow Taiwanese citizens who hold PRC ID cards and passports to keep their Mainland Travel Permit for Taiwan Resident in an apparent attempt to allow them to become de facto PRC citizens without informing Taiwanese authorities.
Pa Chiung published the first part of the documentary on Dec. 6, 2024.
The video quickly went viral, with almost 3 million views, and was widely reported by Taiwan’s media outlets.
In part two of the documentary, which now has 1.7 million views, Chen and his companion traveled to China to meet middlemen who thought that the pair wanted to take advantage of the CCP’s schemes to make money.
In a conversation with the director’s assistant of the Strait Herald, a state-run newspaper based in Fujian Province, Chen also pretended that he would like to run in Taiwan’s elections to help advance the CCP’s agenda.
The assistant briefly offered her opinion on which party would be Chen’s best option but did not discuss the topic in depth.
“Do you want to buy vote?” she said. “If you apply for funds from us and get exposed, you'll be in huge trouble.”
After the video was published, Taiwan’s government department that handles China affairs, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC), said it would “take strict actions” and warned individuals against “testing the law.”
The MAC also condemned the CCP, urging it to stop using cross-strait exchanges to destabilize and divide Taiwan.
