How to influence Taiwan LIVE: China’s United Front 101

On June 10, Taiwanese influencer Holger Chen (陳之漢), known as the “Taiwanese Joe Rogan,” began a six-day “peace mission” in Shanghai, livestreaming the entire visit. During the trip, he praised aspects of China’s development and repeatedly criticized Taiwan’s governing Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), sparking scrutiny over whether the visit was part of a Chinese United Front influence effort targeting Taiwanese audiences.

Chen’s behavior during the trip, including praise for Shanghai’s "unique" trash cans and repeated attacks on the DPP, drew backlash in Taiwanese media, which accused him of "beautifying" the image of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). "Le Monde" described Chen as joining “the growing list of influencers used by China to promote a new form of political propaganda.”

On Sept. 15, Chen’s former associate Li Ching-yuan (李慶元) posted audio on Facebook claiming Chinese officials arranged the trips and offered payment based on his “performance.” TCN could not independently verify the recording.

While Chen has said he traveled independently and received no compensation, he was accompanied by individuals linked to the United Front Work Department (UFWD), the CCP’s overseas influence arm.

Taiwan sees itself as a self-governing democracy, while Beijing considers the island a breakaway province and has not ruled out using force to bring it under its control.

What's the United Front?

Originating in the early 20th century, China's United Front is a long-standing CCP strategy for building alliances with non-party groups to generate support for the party’s political objectives. Today it operates through a wide network of organizations and individuals—inside and outside China—to influence diaspora communities, shape foreign perceptions, and advance Beijing’s interests.

The UFWD is the CCP agency responsible for coordinating this strategy and guiding groups involved in Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan affairs.

UFWD operations are outlined in the CCP’s "Regulations on United Front Work of the Communist Party of China", which encourages officials to guide organizations involved in Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan issues. The department operates globally, focusing on overseas Chinese communities, foreign elites, and increasingly, Taiwanese online personalities.

Piero Tozzi, Deputy Staff Director at the US Congressional-Executive Commission on China (CECC), told TCN the UFWD uses social media, YouTube, and influencers to shape favorable narratives about the PRC and the Chinese Communist Party, presenting their intentions as benign and non-threatening to audiences.

On UFWD tactics, Tozzi said, "One thing to keep in mind is that the chief aim is not to extract information from your head, but rather to insert information into your head.  In other words, it is not primarily about intelligence gathering—that may be a secondary or tertiary objective—but influencing how one thinks."

A report by the Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI) titled "Singing from the CCP’s Songsheet" warned that the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) use of foreign influencers amplifies its narratives and complicates efforts to distinguish organic content from state-backed messaging.

Cameo

On June 11, during the second day of the Shanghai livestream, a man who identified himself as a leader from the UFWD approached Chen on Hengshan Road and asked to take a selfie with him. Moments later, the livestream abruptly cut out.

TCN could not verify the man’s identity or confirm a connection to the livestream cut.

Co-stars

During his trip, Chen was accompanied by four Chinese journalist-influencers—Wang Xiao (王驍), Wang Kerong (王可蓉), Yang Sheng (楊昇), and Li Xiang (李翔). All have commented extensively on Taiwan issues and expressed views aligned with Beijing, with one serving as a councillor in a UFWD-managed organization.

Each has worked with or contributed to the Chinese media outlet Guancha Syndicate (观察者网), which Taiwanese research group Doublethink Lab has identified as a source of disinformation targeting Taiwan.


Guancha

Guancha was founded in 2012 under the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences (SASS) and is now owned by Shanghai Observer Information Technology Co., Ltd.

Its deputy general manager and deputy editor-in-chief, Liang Shunlong (梁顺龙), holds senior roles in the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) and the Revolutionary Committee of the Chinese Kuomintang (RCCK), both central to China’s United Front system.

The RCCK, the most prominent of China’s eight minor political parties, is formally tasked with promoting “national reunification,” Beijing’s term for integrating Taiwan under mainland Chinese control.

Liang also serves as vice president of the Shanghai New Social Stratum Association, a grassroots governance group managed by the UFWD.

Back stories

Li Xiang 

Li Xiang, who accompanied Chen during a trip to Hangzhou during the Shanghai trip, co-hosts Taiwan-focused podcasts with Yang Sheng. 

A UFWD press release states that he is a councillor of the UFWD-run New Social Stratum Association in Beijing’s Chaoyang District. He also claims to have studied in Taiwan.

Wang Xiao 

Wang frequently appeared in Chen’s livestream. Wang has said in videos that he is a member of the RCCK. A 2018 article details his admission into the party. 

Wang was awarded the title of 2023 Youth Online Civilization Ambassador by China's Communist Youth League Central Committee.

The Communist Youth League (CYL) said Wang was one of nine “Good Youth Netizens” to receive the honor.

The "Good Youth Netizen" designation is linked to a 2015 CYL initiative to create online volunteer brigades that post content supporting China’s policies and shaping public opinion, as outlined in the CYL’s Document No. 9.

The volunteers later became known as the “Five-Mao Party” or “Fifty-Cent Party,” a reference to the claim that they were originally paid 0.5 RMB (about US$0.07) per post.

Wang featured on a Taiwan-focused current events podcast with Yang Sheng and Li Xiang. On one episode, Wang dismissed Taiwan’s 2024 presidential election as “a choice between three bad apples.”

Wang Kerong

Wang, a former Guancha editor, authored a widely circulated article in 2018 that shared misinformation about Taiwan’s response to Typhoon Jebi in Japan, Reporters Without Borders wrote. The misinformation contributed to public outrage in Taiwan and has been cited as a factor in the suicide of Su Chii-cherng (蘇啟誠), then head of Taiwan’s Osaka office. A subsequent investigation by Japan’s NHK found that Su had assisted Taiwanese citizens seeking help during the crisis. Wang appeared in Chen's livestream, accompanied by Wang Xiao.

Yang Sheng

A senior journalist at China's state-run English-language media "Global Times", Yang has written for Guancha and is a vocal supporter of Beijing’s policy toward Taiwan. He has posted slogans asserting "Taiwan has never been a country, and it never will be” on the Chinese social media platform Weibo. Yang joined Chen during parts of the trip, accompanied by Li Xiang.

Getting access to Holger

In one of Chen's livestream clips, Wang Xiao says Taiwanese influencer Lee Yi-hsiu (李易修), known as History Bro, introduced him to Chen. Lee, who has over 400,000 YouTube subscribers, co-hosts political commentary podcasts with Wang, Li, and Yang that present narratives consistent with Beijing’s views on Taiwan. Wang said he first met Lee during an academic exchange in 2024.

In another podcast, Li Xiang said that History Bro asked him and Yang Sheng to receive Holger Chen during his visit to Shanghai and Hangzhou.

Through History Bro, Li Xiang, Wang Xiao, and Yang Sheng gained access to Holger Chen, who has 1.3 million YouTube subscribers. 


Bear-baiting

Taiwanese legislator Puma Shen (沈伯洋) of the governing Democratic Progressive Party and co-founder of the Kuma Academy (黑熊學院), a civilian defense organization in Taipei, has long been a target of Chinese state media criticism, which frequently brands him a “die-hard separatist.”

In addition to being sanctioned by the Chinese government and banned from entering China, Hong Kong, and Macao, Shen is under investigation by China's Chongqing Public Security Bureau for alleged “secessionist” activities related to his establishment of the Kuma Academy.

During Chen’s livestream, Li Xiang asked Chen to watch him play the hit Chinese action game "Black Myth: Wukong" and fight the enemy character Black Bear Guai.

After defeating Black Bear Guai, Li declared, “I just crushed the Black Bear Brigade!”

The Formosan black bear, a symbol of Taiwanese identity, also features in the Kuma Academy emblem. Li’s reference to the “Black Bear Brigade” was a nod to Shen’s Kuma Academy, which is sometimes translated as the Black Bear Academy.

Li later posted the clip to Weibo under the headline, “Right in front of Taiwan’s Holger Chen, the ‘Black Bear Brigade’ gets crushed!” The post included an animation of Puma Shen being slapped, alongside the label “Die-hard Taiwan independence separatist, Puma Shen.”

Commenting on the clip, Professor Wen-Ping Liu (劉文斌), a former section chief at Taiwan’s Ministry of Justice Investigation Bureau (MJIB) and an expert on cognitive warfare, told TCN that Li Xiang's virtual battle with the Black Bear Guai is obviously meant to allude to attacking Kuma Academy.

“It’s a rather lowbrow form of propaganda, aimed solely at satisfying certain groups on both sides of the Strait,” he added.

Li's links to the UFWD added political significance to the segment.

By appearing on Chen’s livestream, Li reached an audience far beyond his usual followers, and the YouTube clip has drawn 2.15 million views to date.


Passing the baton

Professor Liu says United Front work involves cultivating friendly relationships with influential individuals outside the CCP to advance political goals.

The United Front's standard operating procedure is no big secret. Guancha's Liang Shunlong wrote in a 2020 "China News" article that United Front work resembles a relay race. "United Front departments connect with non-Party representatives, who then reach out to and influence the sectors and communities they represent," he said.

In the 1939 article "Introducing the Communist", Mao Zedong (毛澤東), the founder of the People's Republic of China (PRC) and a founding member of the CCP, described the United Front as one of the CCP’s "magic weapons."

What’s at stake for Taiwan?

Piero Tozzi urges people to remember history when trying to understand the UFWD's deployment of social media and influencers.

"This is a form of subterfuge designed to mask real intentions, which is the victory of the CCP and the subjugation of Taiwan; people with a sense of history should recognize that United Front engagement and the obtaining of influence, followed by subversion, contributed to the loss of the Chinese Mainland during the pre-1949 Republican period," he said.

The objectives of the CCP haven’t changed much since the 1920s, when propaganda pamphlets were the medium people consumed, but the technology has been updated, he added.