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.
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