From China with love: Coast Guard’s ‘creepy’ message to Taiwan during military exercises

Image spread during Monday’s military exercises, compared to sexual harassment or violent partner

• By Helen Davidson and Chi-hui Lin / The Guardian, Taipei

A Chinese propaganda image distributed around Taiwan during military exercises on Monday was supposed to send a positive message to the island’s people, but was instead labeled as weird, creepy and akin to “sexual harassment.”

On Monday, China targeted Taiwan with major military exercises, surrounding the main island and its outlying areas with planes and ships to stage a blockade and attack. In addition to a record number of warplanes, dozens of naval and coast guard ships and cyber attacks, China also launched a barrage of propaganda.

Amid the video montages of soldiers rushing to troop carriers, photos of captains staring through binoculars from the deck of a warship and breathless editorials about “inevitable reunion,” one piece of media stood out: a love heart.

Photo taken from Weibo

The illustration, which was shared widely online, showed a satellite image of Taiwan’s main island, and a line of arrows running around it in the shape of a heart. The accompanying script – in the traditional Chinese characters used by Taiwan – reads: “Hello my love” and “The patrol is in the form of loving you.”

The image came from China’s coast guard, which conducted “law enforcement patrols” around Taiwan during Monday’s exercises.

Taiwanese coast guard officials labeled the image as Chinese cognitive warfare and intimidation. But it did not seem to have the desired impact on the Taiwanese population.

Photo taken from Weibo

The image made headlines in the local news. It mainly provoked ridicule and anger on social media. People found the image “creepy” and the comment sections were filled with vomit emojis. Some compared the sentiment expressed to an abusive partner, while one newspaper called it ‘sexual harassment’.

Many were also perplexed by what appeared to be a reference to a 15-year-old Taiwanese TV drama, Hi My Sweetheart (海派甜心), which was long off the air. Some people suspected that the reference was to remind people of the show’s star, local actor Rainie Yang (楊丞琳), who was criticized in Taiwan for saying she was Chinese and for posting pro-China content online.

Past propaganda efforts have included crude animations of missiles hitting major cities in Taiwan. In August 2022, during exercises launched in retaliation for a visit by US Speaker Nancy Pelosi, China was accused of hacking monitors at Taiwanese train stations and convenience stores to display messages disparaging her.

Photo: Reuters