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Amid the growing rivalry between China and the United States, many Taiwanese have turned to podcaster Mindy Huang as a trusted voice to guide them through complex global events.
Huang, 36, interacts with more than 80,000 listeners each week on Knife to world newsa two-hour forum where geopolitics and the island’s complicated relationship with China are discussed.
She says the engagement has given her insight into the mindset of her audience.
“I think most Taiwanese see ourselves as Taiwanese. We see ourselves as an independent country different from China,” he told CBC News in Taipei.
“But… I think people under 18 – young people – are willing to get closer to China.”
China considers Taiwan a breakaway province and has vowed to take back the democratically governed island by force if necessary.
However, Huang and others say that pro-China messages on social media are resonating with Taiwan’s youth more than the potential threat posed by China.
Internal divisions
Most countries in the world, including Canada, recognize the People’s Republic of China (PRC) and adhere to the “One China” policy, but Canada has never recognized China’s sovereignty over Taiwan.
Within Taiwan itself, the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) leans more toward independence, but has largely avoided potentially disruptive steps in that direction. Beijing considers party leaders, including Taiwan’s current president, Lai Ching-te, “separatists.”
The opposition Kuomintang, or KMT, is considered more open to dialogue with China and has traditionally skewed toward an older demographic.
Internal divisions are not new, but they have become increasingly relevant, particularly among younger Taiwanese.
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Taiwan faces military provocations from China almost daily, and the latter’s ships and planes operate near the island. China’s military forces are also undertaking a immense accumulation of missiles and other weaponry on the mainland and have reportedly even staged dress rehearsals to storm Taiwan’s presidential building.
Meanwhile, Taiwan is trying to leverage its impressive economic success as a manufacturer of most of the world’s most advanced computer chips to gain more political clout to counter Chinese influence and improve its international diplomacy.
In this sense, winning the hearts and minds of younger generations is a key part of Taiwan’s “resilience.” President Lai says his government It is trying to grow and promote itself within its population.
Generational divide
But Huang says many young people don’t see China as a threat in the same way that people as young as a decade old do.
“They see a lot of good things (about China) through social media,” Huang said.
“They wonder why we have to be enemies with each other. But if I said, ‘Oh, don’t forget or don’t ignore China’s hostility,’ they would say, no, I can’t feel any of that.”
“That’s why I think social media definitely creates a beautiful image for teenagers in China.”
The impact of China’s so-called “gray zone” efforts (or hostile activities that fall short of actual force) have been widely studied, particularly with regards to Chinese-owned TikTok.
A study of TikTok users in Taiwan in early 2025 concluded that a majority tended to blame Taiwan’s political parties, rather than China, for the rise in hostilities across the Taiwan Strait. It also suggested that support for pro-Beijing narratives was significantly higher among TikTok users than among those who did not use the social media platform.
Taipei political scientist Ronan Fu says China’s efforts to flood the social media space with anti-democracy messages and soften support for independence have had an effect and could have worrying implications as the island tries to strengthen its military defenses.
“They (young people) probably would not voluntarily participate in a war if one were to occur,” said Fu, who is an assistant researcher at Academia Sinica, Taiwan’s top research institution.
“Perhaps you can attribute this type of denialism to a sense of ‘threat fatigue,’ because the myth of a threat is there, and has been there for a long time, but it has not materialized.”
China and Taiwan have been immersed in a Cold War about the island’s status since 1949, when Mao Zedong’s communist forces defeated those of the Republic of China, who then fled to the island.
Views of youth
While in Taipei, CBC News spoke with teenagers and college-age students in Ximending, a pedestrian area filled with clothing stores and restaurants popular with young people.
“I don’t think this is something to worry about,” said Lauren Chung, 20, a college student.
“If mainland China really does it (invades Taiwan), it will increase tension between the two sides, so they probably won’t do it.”
Her friend Amelia Xu said she is also not particularly worried about what would happen to Taiwan’s democratic nature and freedoms if the island were eventually taken.
“After China took over Hong Kong and Macau, people still enjoyed freedom of speech. So I don’t think freedom of speech is something I worry about,” he said.
Hong Kong, a former British colony, returned to Chinese rule in 1997 but maintained a high level of autonomy until Beijing passed sweeping changes that restricted which candidates could run for public office.
Opposition voices in Hong Kong have been largely silenced following widespread and often violent pro-democracy protests in 2019 and 2020. Most of the leaders of those protests fled Hong Kong or were jailed.
Elsewhere in Taipei, near Computer Street, an electronics sales center, Amber Tsai, 21, said she feels less threatened by China than before.
“It seems that international society is now paying more attention to Taiwan,” he said, referring to its technological success.
“After more and more people know about Taiwan, I feel that China’s ambition towards Taiwan is not as strong. Therefore, I am no longer as worried as before.”
Influence of social networks
In an interview with CBC News, Taiwan Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim stressed that China’s social media efforts have been difficult to counter.
“There is… tremendous awareness that cognitive warfare is a problem and misinformation has been used as a tool to disrupt the cohesion of our society as a democracy,” he said.
“We are also working with other democracies to find best practices to counter these types of influence operations carried out by authoritarian states.”
He said part of that involves media literacy campaigns, as well as “drawing attention” to China.
But Huang, the podcast host, says Taiwan’s government faces an overwhelming adversary as it tries to keep up with Chinese messaging.
She says the island’s young people are generally much less concerned about geopolitics and China than they are about finding a job, saving money and buying a house.
“For them, they only see the struggles during their daily lives. So before they solve those struggles or problems, it’s very difficult for them to realize, ‘Oh, the sovereignty of their country matters,'” Huang said.
Still, he says he expresses his own opinion as much as he can: that an attack from China is likely.
“I always tell my audience to be prepared. I believe what (Chinese President) Xi Jinping said: It’s deep in your mind that you’re going to do that.”
