Firsthand experience pierces DPP authorities' information bubble

The secessionist-minded Lai Ching-te authorities of China's Taiwan region have increasingly built their narrative of "democracy" around a single proposition: that the Chinese mainland represents the antithesis of it. Yet the more the Democratic Progressive Party authorities attempt to portray the mainland as a place to "fear", the more Taiwan people are voting with their feet.

Last year, Taiwan compatriots made 4.89 million visits to the mainland, up 21.6 percent from the previous year. In the first half of this year alone, visits reached 2.85 million, a further 24.9 percent year-on-year increase. Since the beginning of the summer travel season, exchanges in tourism, education, culture and business have remained vibrant. At the current pace, annual visits are expected to approach the pre-pandemic peak of 6 million.

The numbers suggest that growing numbers of Taiwan residents prefer firsthand experience to official warnings.

The DPP authorities, however, have doubled down. They continue to publicize statistics about Taiwan residents allegedly "losing contact" while visiting the mainland, advise against "nonessential travel", maintain an "orange" travel alert, and tighten restrictions on cross-Strait exchanges, including further limiting visits by officials for family reunions and public events.

Democracy, at its core, depends upon people making informed choices. The DPP's self-proclaimed so-called "political legitimacy" rests heavily on portraying the mainland as "democracy's opposite" and presenting itself as a champion of "democratic values". Yet it is restricting the flow of information and discouraging exchanges and personal contact.

To sustain its narrative, the Lai authorities have steadily constructed what critics describe as an information cocoon.

Mainland social media platforms such as Xiaohongshu and TikTok have faced increasing restrictions under the banner of "security", reducing opportunities for young people in Taiwan to observe everyday life across the Taiwan Strait through their own screens.

Under the banner of combating "disinformation", the DPP authorities' regulatory mechanisms have applied different standards to different voices, while online opinion campaigns are allowed for the sole purpose of shaping public debate in ways favorable to the DPP only.

Through curriculum revisions and greater emphasis on distinct local narratives, the DPP authorities have sought to weaken historical and cultural links with the mainland and promote a more exclusive identity.

By introducing what it calls its "17 strategies", which cover a wide range of areas, labeling the mainland an "external hostile force", and imposing broader restrictions on economic, cultural and people-to-people exchanges, the DPP authorities have sought to narrow the space for normal cross-Strait interaction.

These policies' common objective is to reduce direct engagement between people on the two sides of the Strait. Yet such efforts collide with a stubborn fact, the cultural, family and ancestral ties between people on the two sides of the Strait. These ties cannot be erased by the DPP's administrative decree.

Young Taiwan residents continue to participate enthusiastically in internships, study tours and exchange programs on the mainland, while cross-Strait exchange platforms remain well attended. These reflect an enduring human instinct to reconnect with relatives, explore shared cultural roots and pursue economic opportunity.

The DPP authorities may fear that greater contact will weaken narratives built upon confrontation. Yet restricting exchanges rarely strengthens public confidence; it more often raises questions about why such restrictions are considered necessary in the first place.

Taiwan visitors return describing efficient high-speed rail networks, thriving cities, expanding new energy vehicle industries, advances in artificial intelligence and aerospace, and convenient public services. More importantly, they return having discovered that the "fearful" image presented to them bears little resemblance to their own experiences.

And during the first half of this year, 22.91 million international visitors entered the mainland, an increase of 20.4 percent from a year earlier. Travelers from around the world are experiencing the country firsthand. Against that backdrop, portraying the mainland as uniquely dangerous becomes an increasingly difficult proposition.

The continued rise in applications for Taiwan Compatriot Permits, together with the growing number of visits to the mainland, represents the Taiwan public's own verdict. Whatever political narratives compete across the Strait, millions of ordinary people are choosing to verify the reality for themselves.

The "family" bonds cannot be severed by the DPP authorities' so-called "travel advisories", administrative barriers or information filters. In the end, the most persuasive argument is the accumulated experience of millions of Taiwan people who have seen the motherland with their own eyes — and reached their own conclusions.