“Information Operations Calendar” is a collaborative project between artist Lin Wei-Lun and the Taiwan Information Environment Research Center (IORG), a Taiwanese civil society organization specializing in analyzing Taiwan’s Mandarin-language information ecosystem.
The calendar maps out the themes of information manipulation campaigns that Taiwanese citizens encounter every year each month, both from within Taiwan and from across the Strait. By utilizing a combination of writing systems, this calendar highlights both the opportunities of cross-cultural communications and the vulnerability of language as a vector of foreign aggression; Traditional Chinese characters are standard in Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Macau, while simplified Chinese characters are primarily used in Mainland China.
Calendar Text:
January: Vote Rigging
Image description: My grandmother holds her ballot in front of a polling station, ready to cast her vote for the new president.
Keywords: vote rigging
- During elections, recalls, and referendums, rumors alleging election manipulation emerge in Taiwan’s information ecosystem.
- In 2024, anonymous TikTok accounts posted “predictions of vote rigging” ahead of the presidential election. After the election, these accounts posted edited videos of the ballot count as “evidence” claiming electoral manipulation.
- TikTok account “Objective Netizen 666” (客觀的鄉民 666) was created two weeks before the 2024 presidential election. It posted videos alleging election rigging, accumulating over 3.9 million views during election periods.
Key Dates:
- January 1 Founding Day of the Republic of China
- January 11 Taiwan’s Presidential Elections（Cycle: Four years）
- January 19 Firefighters’ Day
- January 28 Lunar New Year’s Eve
- January 29 Lunar New Year
- January 29 Chinese New Year（People’s Republic of China）
- January 30 The second day of the Lunar New Year
February: Egg Shortage
Image description: A scene from my friend’s Chicken farm in Dashe, Kaohsiung.
Keywords: egg shortage, egg surplus, green eggs, ultra source, brilliance biotechnology,
- Each year at the beginning of Spring and around the Lunar New Year holiday, there are surges in narratives concerning “egg shortages” and “rising egg prices’ in Taiwan’s information ecosystem.”
- In early 2023, a conspiracy theory circulated asserting that the government had intentionally disrupted egg supply to drive up prices, allegedly to legitimize the import of nuclear-contaminated eggs from Fukushima. This misinformation campaign gained traction in pan-Blue (Kuomintang party) LINE groups and Facebook pages.
Key Dates:
- February 24 Russian invasion of Ukraine (2022)
- February 28 Peace Memorial Day
March: Water Shortage
Image description: Sludge removal operations at Shigang Dam in Taichung. Taiwanese political commentators often cite data from “taiwanstat.com,” a real time water supply website. However, these pundits sometimes overlook the fact that some dams show low water levels due to dredging work, which is necessary to maximize storage capacity for the coming typhoon season.
Keywords: water shortage + northern, central, and southern taiwan
- “Water shortage” media narratives peak in Taiwan’s information environment before the rainy season in March and again during typhoon seasons between August and September.
- On March 29th, 2023, the spokesperson of Taiwan Affairs Office in China, Zhu Fenglian, stated that “[the long-standing challenges that Taiwan faces regarding development and personal welfare, especially water and electricity shortages, can be addressed through cross-Strait collaboration and integrated development.]”
Key Dates:
- March 3 March 3 Blackout (2022)
- March 6 Kaoshiung Massacre (1947)
- March 8 Women’s Day／Keelung Massacre (1947)
- March 12 Memorial Day of Dr. Sun Yat-sen’s Death
- March 14 Anti-Aggression Day
- March 29 Youth Day／Matyr’s Day (In Taiwan)
April: Meat Shortage
Image description: Piglets napping after vaccination in a pig farm located in Zhunan, Miaoli. To prevent swine flu, farmers vaccinate each new piglet, disinfect the pigpen at least twice a day, and enforce strict feed management.
Keywords: pork, chicken + inflation, shortage
- “Meat shortage” narratives peak in Taiwan’s information environment during Qingming celebration in April. These peaks are often associated with price increases as a result of rising demands during traditional festivals, including Lunar New Year in February.
- On March 7, 2023, Chinese state-owned media outlet “Voice of the Strait” claims that Taiwan’s military “spends USD 600 million on missiles yet cannot afford meat,” resulting in “no eggs” and “no meat.”
Key Dates:
- April 4 Children’s Day／Tomb Sweeping Day
- April 7 Freedom of Speech Day
- April 20 Yeh Yung-chih Incident (2000)
May: Green Terror
Image description: White Terror survivor Mr. Hung Wu-hsiung lays flowers at the Human Rights Memorial Monument in remembrance of those who passed. Since its establishment in 2015, the number of names of political victims engraved on the monument has grown from 8,079 to 12,060.
Keywords: green communists, green nazi, green terror (The color green represents Democratic Progressive Party)
- Following Lai Ching-te’s presidential victory in 2024, the terms “Green Terror (綠色恐怖),” “Green Communists (綠共),” and “Green Nazi (綠粹)” began trending. These keywords rose sharply in popularity for two years in a row on and around May 20th, Taiwan’s inauguration day, subsequently reinforcing associations between authoritarianism, communism, Nazism, and the Democratic Progressive Party.
Key Dates:
- May 1 Labor Day
- May 19 White Terror Memorial Day
- May 20 Inauguration Day
- May 31 Dragon Boat Festival
June: Electricity Shortage
Indigenous youth from the Rinari community in Kaohsiung clear roads blocked by fallen trees that had knocked down power lines following strong winds.
Keywords: electricity shortage, power outage, power cut, electricity price increase
- In June to September of every year, Taiwan’s information environment experiences a surge in the circulation of “electricity shortage””” narratives as a result of three main factors: (1) the assembly of the Electricity Price Review Committee and (2) increased electricity demand during the hot summer months, and (3) electricity disruptions during typhoon season.
- In both 2023 and 2024, Chinese state-owned media predicted Taiwan would have an electricity shortage issue due to government policy errors, corruption, and authoritarianism. Furthermore, they claimed that this electricity shortage would eventually weaken the semiconductor industry and that “[the People’s Liberation Army would not even need to attack Taiwan for it to surrender.]”
Key Dates:
- June 1 Summer Electricity Rate Start Day
- June 15 Police Day
July: National Defense Defeatism
Image description: A member of the Coast Guard prepares to board a patrol ship at Keelung Port for a week-long patrol mission. In recent years, Chinese sand dredgers have frequently encroached on Taiwanese territorial waters. There have also been incidents of fishing vessels breaking submarine cables, making Coast Guard duties increasingly complex and demanding.
Keywords: Han-Kuang, military exercise, run away
- During Taiwan’s Han Kuang military exercises and Chinese military drills in July, Taiwan’s information environment sees the rise of “defense failure” narratives.
- These narratives claim that the president is preparing to flee, the military is unable to defend Taiwan, and citizens are unwilling to defend the country. Some also question the quality and price of arms purchased from the US. Others also conflate the government’s efforts to strengthen national defense with the provocation of war.
- Media narratives of presidents Tsai Ing-wen and Lai Ching-te fleeing the country circulated during three key events: the U.S. military withdrawal from Afghanistan in August 2021, US congresswoman Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan in August 2022, and during Taiwan’s yearly military exercises in August 2023, 2024, and 2025.
Key Dates:
- July 1 Handover of Hong Kong (1997)
- July 2 Remembrance Day of Dr. Chen Wen Chen (A political victim during Taiwan’s “White Terror” era)
- July 7 Memorial day of Marco Polo Bridge incident
- July 9-18 Han Kuang 41 Exercise
- July 15 Commemoration Day of the Lifting of Martial Law
- July15-18 2025 Urban Resilience Exercise (Taichung, Tainan and Taipei）
August: Majestic Mountains, Splendid Rivers
Image description: View of Dgiyaq Klbiyun, also known as Qilai Mountain. More than 400 years ago, the Truku people lived on the Truku Truwan plateau next to Qilai mountain. They often went hunting in the mountains at dawn. When they were at the peak looking out to the Pacific Ocean, the sunlight would shimmer on the sea. As a result, the indigenous name for mountain comes from the Truku phrase “squinting somewhere afar”.
Keywords: xinjiang, tibet + travel, concentration camp
- During the summer holiday months of July and August 2024, at least 20 Taiwanese influencers on YouTube and Instagram shared their travels in Tibet and Xinjiang, sharing footage of natural landscapes, food, and local culture.
- On August 31, 2022, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights released an assessment report criticizing the Chinese government for human rights abuses in Xinjiang.
On August 26, 2023, Xi Jinping visited Urumqi, instructing local governments to promote tourism in Xinjiang and strengthen its public image.
Key Dates:
- August 1 Indigenous Peoples’ Day
- August 15 Shūsen Kinenbi, or End-of-war Memorial Day (Japan)
September: Foreign Affairs Defeatism
Image description: Ground crew at Japan Kansai International Airport prepare for boarding.
Keywords: kansai international airport, chinese first
- On September 4th, 2018, Typhoon Jebi struck Japan, causing the closure of Kansai International Airport.
- On September 5th, 2018, Weibo account “Flood and beast baby” claimed in a post that the Chinese embassy in Osaka scheduled shuttle buses for the Chinese tourists immediately.
- Later that day, the Chinese news site “Guancha” cited “Flood and beast baby’s” false Weibo post that claimed if Taiwanese tourists said they were Chinese, then they were allowed to board the shuttle buses as well. This baseless reporting sparked outrage among Taiwanese news outlets which, in turn, blamed Taiwanese government officials stationed in Japan for their lack of a swift response. This ultimately led to the suicide of Su Chii-cherng, the director of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Osaka at the time.
Key Dates:
- September 1 Armed Forces Day／Victory over Japan Day (WWII)
- September 1 Victory over Japan Day（People’s Republic of China）
- September 14 Remembrance Day of Su Chii-cherng (Former director of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Osaka)
- September 18 September 18th Incident Memorial Day（People’s Republic of China）
- September 28 Teacher’s Day／Confucius’ Birthday
October: One China
Image description: A statue of Mazu looks across the Strait at Mainland China. The statue was gifted to Kinmen by the Mazu Temple in Meizhou, China after a visit to Taiwan in 2002 following a 50-year travel ban between the two regions.
Keywords: one china, one culture one ethnicity, one root one origin
- The ninth day of the ninth lunar month marks the anniversary of Mazu’s ascension to heaven. The annual ceremony at the Mazu Ancestral Temple in Meizhou, China attracts the largest number of Taiwanese participants among all cross-strait religious exchanges.
- Mazu is an important religious figure in China and Taiwan and Chinese state media has used her to emphasise shared cultural roots and to promote unity across the Taiwan Strait.
Key Dates:
- October 1 National Day（People’s Republic of China）
- October 6 Mid-Autumn Festival
- October 10 National Day
- October 25 Taiwan Retrocession Day
- October 29 Mazu’s Ascension to Heaven（People’s Republic of China）
November: U.S. Skepticism
Image description: Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC)’s Global R&D Center in Hsinchu Science Park.
Keywords: TSMC ASMC (America Semiconductor Manufacturing Company)
- During each U.S. election cycle, Taiwan’s information environment sees an increase in narratives manipulating public perception of Taiwan–U.S. relations, often claiming that the United States will abandon Taiwan, or accelerate its demise.
- U.S. federal elections are held biennially on the first Tuesday of November.
- Between October and November 2022, as news circulated about TSMC engineers traveling to the United States and the company’s Arizona factory, the term “America Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, ASMC” appeared in multiple media pieces, accusing the United States of “taking advantage of Taiwan.”
- Ahead of the U.S. election in November 2024, the term “ASMC” once again reached a peak in circulation, raising doubts about U.S. intentions to seize TSMC and accusing the Taiwanese government of selling out the company.
Key Dates:
- November 4 United States Election（U.S., Cycle: Even-numbered years）
- November 8 Coast Guard Day
- November 22 Taiwan’s Local Elections（Cycle: Four years）
December: Taiwan Defeatism
Image description: Red, white, and blue smoke in the sky after an Air Force drill during Taiwan’s National Day celebrations.
Keywords: character of the year
- Since 2008, United Daily News (TW) has presented its “Character of the Year” each December through online voting, allowing readers to express which Chinese character they feel best represents Taiwan that year.
- In 2023, United Daily News (TW) ’s Character of the Year was “缺,” meaning shortage or scarcity. That same year, the Mainland Chinese news outlets Want Want China Times Media group and Xiamen Daily also co-hosted a vote for the Cross-Strait Character of the Year. The winning word was “融,” meaning a harmonious union. Through this, the CCP expressed that “[only through strengthening peaceful ties between Taiwan and China can the current shortages Taiwan faces be resolved.]”
- On January 1st, 2023, state-owned China News Service questioned if Taiwan could ever escape from rising costs of living or food and energy shortages.
Key Dates:
- December 25 Constitution Day