Taiwan’s ‘White Wolf’ leads lonely crusade to ‘reunify’ with China | Politics News
Taipei, Taiwan — Chang An-lo, often referred to as the “White Wolf,” insists that his efforts are rooted in promoting peace, despite his associations with organized crime, election interference, and alleged Chinese influence operations.
Chang is the leader of the Chinese Unification Promotion Party (CUPP), an organization that advocates for the reunification of Taiwan with China. His views remain unpopular within Taiwan, where a strong sense of separate identity has emerged despite the island’s historical and cultural ties to the mainland.
Taiwan, a democracy with a population of approximately 23 million, has operated independently from China for more than a century. Initially a colony of Japan and later known as the Republic of China, the government retreated to the island in the 1940s following the Chinese Civil War.
Polls indicate that a majority of Taiwanese favor maintaining the island’s de facto independence, even amid claims from the Chinese Communist Party in Beijing that Taiwan is a province that should be reunited, potentially through force.
Chang has criticized Taiwanese President William Lai Ching-te, accusing him of provoking tensions with Beijing by advocating for independence. He argues that Taiwanese citizens should not position themselves as victims in a potential conflict over unification.
“If you don’t pursue Taiwan independence, there won’t be a war. But if you push for independence, selling Taiwan out to provoke conflict — we will rise up on the front lines. We refuse to be cannon fodder,” Chang stated during an interview with Al Jazeera.
Chang claims to have engaged with Chinese officials regarding the designation of certain Daoist temples in Taiwan as civilian shelters during a military conflict. He often appears in a vest that calls on Taiwan’s armed forces to “rise up on the front line.”
His perspectives have drawn significant criticism. Lai Chung-chiang, a Taiwanese lawyer and human rights activist, remarked that Chang’s rhetoric implies a lack of loyalty to Taiwan’s democratically elected government.
“The meaning of ‘rise up at the front line, don’t be cannon fodder’ isn’t just an anti-resistance statement toward China,” Lai said.
Taiwan’s Ministry of the Interior has labeled the CUPP as a threat to the Republic of China and its democratic framework. Last week, the ministry approached the Taiwan Constitutional Court, seeking the party’s dissolution over allegations of collusion with Beijing to influence grassroots politics, recruit spies, and meddle in elections.
Since the CUPP’s establishment in the mid-2000s, authorities have investigated at least 11 party members for breaches of national security and election laws. Additionally, the ministry reported that dozens of members have faced charges unrelated to national security, including violations of organized crime prevention statutes.
Chang has countered these criticisms by asserting that the crime rate among CUPP members is lower than that of the general Taiwanese population, maintaining that any member involved in criminal activities would be expelled from the party.
When questioned about potential ties to China’s United Front Work Department, which oversees political influence efforts, he expressed support for its initiatives. “For the peace and happiness of the people on both sides of the Strait, I am fully on board with the United Front,” Chang said.
He also accused the ruling Democratic Progressive Party of corruption, sharing a dossier with alleged misconduct by its officials.
The CUPP does not hold seats in Taiwan’s national legislature, with its only elected officials being two neighborhood wardens in New Taipei City and Miaoli County. Although not in an official government role, Chang has taken on a public service role by assisting families in distress, including those whose relatives are believed to have been trafficked to Southeast Asia.
While Chang claims to have helped numerous victims, Al Jazeera could not independently verify his assertions.
Several CUPP members have been investigated for connections to the Bamboo Union, a well-known organized crime syndicate in Taiwan. Chang acknowledges his past as a senior member of the Bamboo Union, but maintains that he distanced himself from that life in 1968. He served a decade in a U.S. federal prison for drug trafficking before being deported to Taiwan, where he was arrested in 2013 on organized crime charges that were later dropped.
Since then, Chang has reframed himself as a Chinese nationalist and the face of the CUPP.
China’s government has condemned Taiwan’s attempts to ban the party, arguing that advocating for reunification is both justified and legitimate. “Advocating for reunification and opposing secessionist attempts are justified and legitimate,” stated Chen Binhua, a spokesperson for the Taiwan Affairs Office in Beijing.
Political analysts suggest that dissolving the CUPP would yield little substantive change in Taiwanese politics. Pu-chao Hung, a political scientist, noted that Chinese influence operations are likely to persist regardless of the CUPP’s status, as individuals involved can transition into alternative civic organizations.
Chang expressed hope that negotiations could lead to a peaceful reunification with China, citing historical proposals for favorable terms. He contends that whether referred to as the Republic of China or the People’s Republic of China, both sides represent a unified Chinese identity.
“Both sides represent China, and we are all Chinese,” Chang stated.
