Topics set for two upcoming Global Cooperation and Training Framework (GCTF) workshops in Taipei underline the platform’s commitment to addressing critical global issues and the hope of strengthening whole-of-society resilience, the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) said.
The GCTF forum slated to take place next month is titled “Countering Foreign Information Manipulation and Interference,” while another event scheduled for November is titled “Energy Security.”
The topics demonstrate the GCTF’s commitment to addressing critical global issues, with the aim of strengthening whole-of-society resilience through enhancing energy security, and improving media literacy and effective responses to online threats, an AIT spokesperson said.
Photo courtesy of the Presidential Office
As with all GCTF projects, the two workshops are jointly organized by the AIT, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Japan-Taiwan Exchange Association, the Australian Office in Taipei and the Canadian Trade Office in Taipei, they said.
As this year marks the 10th anniversary of the GCTF, the workshops would continue the tradition of being a vital platform for sharing Taiwan’s experience with the world, facilitating the nation’s cooperation with like-minded partners and forming new solutions in facing common challenges, they said.
GCTF workshops do not address cognitive warfare every year, and this year’s topic choice reflects China’s massive information manipulation over the past few months, Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Puma Shen (沈伯洋) said yesterday.
Foreign information manipulation and interference is a focus of global attention, and the GCTF might have felt that China or other major powers in information warfare are coming up with more methods of information manipulation, he said.
The topic might not be aimed at China, but it is signaling to GCTF members that they should set up a platform among themselves to share intelligence, Shen said.
Countries should not try to understand China’s action in isolation, he said, adding that cross-border collaboration is needed.
Chen Fang-yu (陳方隅), an assistant professor in the Department of Political Science at Soochow University, said the topics were selected possibly because the GCTF considers them urgent, and Taiwan and the US already have a certain degree of research and findings.
The US, across different administrations, has been studying information manipulation and misinformation, and Taiwan, which is at the front line of information manipulation and interference, also has in-depth research findings, he said, adding that the workshops could be an extension of long-standing areas of cooperation.
Since US President Donald Trump came into office, his administration has cut funding to the US Agency for International Development and other programs, but the funding for the GCTF has been steady and supported by the US Congress, Chen said.
The GCTF offers training that is in line with many political agendas and societal demands, he said.
Regarding the workshop on energy security, Chen said the issue is closely linked to defense resilience, as it has a direct impact on energy supply and how to respond to a potential blockade during wartime, adding that it is not necessarily related to Taiwan’s energy policy.
FIREPOWER: On top of the torpedoes, the military would procure Kestrel II anti-tank weapons systems to replace aging license-produced M72 LAW launchers Taiwan is to receive US-made Mark 48 torpedoes and training simulators over the next three years, following delays that hampered the navy’s operational readiness, the Ministry of National Defense’s latest budget proposal showed. The navy next year would acquire four training simulator systems for the torpedoes and take receipt of 14 torpedoes in 2027 and 10 torpedoes in 2028, the ministry said in its budget for the next fiscal year. The torpedoes would almost certainly be utilized in the navy’s two upgraded Chien Lung-class submarines and the indigenously developed Hai Kun, should the attack sub successfully reach operational status. US President Donald Trump
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) is expected to start construction of its 1.4-nanometer chip manufacturing facilities at the Central Taiwan Science Park (CTSP, 中部科學園區) as early as October, the Chinese-language Liberty Times (the Taipei Times’ sister newspaper) reported yesterday, citing the park administration. TSMC acquired land for the second phase of the park’s expansion in Taichung in June. Large cement, construction and facility engineering companies in central Taiwan have reportedly been receiving bids for TSMC-related projects, the report said. Supply-chain firms estimated that the business opportunities for engineering, equipment and materials supply, and back-end packaging and testing could reach as high as
ALL QUIET: The Philippine foreign secretary told senators she would not respond to questions about whether Lin Chia-lung was in the country The Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Wednesday confirmed that a business delegation is visiting the Philippines, but declined to say whether Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) is part of the group, as Philippine lawmakers raised questions over Lin’s reported visit. The group is being led by Deputy Minister of Agriculture Huang Chao-chin (黃昭欽), Chinese International Economic Cooperation Association (CIECA) chairman Joseph Lyu (呂桔誠) and US-Taiwan Business Council (USTBC) vice president Lotta Danielsson, the ministry said in a statement. However, sources speaking on condition of anonymity said that Lin is leading the delegation of 70 people. Filinvest New Clark City Innovation Park
TPP RALLY: The clashes occurred near the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall on Saturday at a rally to mark the anniversary of a raid on former TPP chairman Ko Wen-je People who clashed with police at a Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) rally in Taipei on Saturday would be referred to prosecutors for investigation, said the Ministry of the Interior, which oversees the National Police Agency. Taipei police had collected evidence of obstruction of public officials and coercion by “disorderly” demonstrators, as well as contraventions of the Assembly and Parade Act (集會遊行法), the ministry said in a statement on Sunday. It added that amid the “severe pushing and jostling” by some demonstrators, eight police officers were injured, including one who was sent to hospital after losing consciousness, allegedly due to heat stroke. The Taipei
RSS