The US and Taiwan stand together on the front lines of the fight against disinformation and have both faced harmful misinformation in their democratic elections, the US’ top envoy to Taipei said yesterday.
Speaking at the opening ceremony of the Indo-Pacific Workshop on Countering Disinformation, American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) Director Sandra Oudkirk praised Taiwan for its respect for “fundamental freedoms” and its strong commitment to the “free exchange of ideas.”
“At a time of democratic backsliding and human rights abuses elsewhere in the Indo-Pacific, Taiwan serves as an invaluable model to others,” Oudkirk said.
Photo: CNA
However, in the Internet age and with the emergence of artificial intelligence, the spread of disinformation to open democratic societies is becoming more challenging to combat, she said.
The “United States, Taiwan and many others are on the front lines as we grapple with the spread of disinformation and propaganda, particularly as foreign actors seek to use social media and emerging technologies to manipulate public discourse ... and undermine confidence in our democratic institutions,” she said.
Amid this threat, such a forum is important for sharing experiences and best practices with like-minded representatives of governments, civil society and academia from around the world, she said.
“We believe a well-informed citizenry is key to the strength of democratic institutions, healthy and robust public debate, based on facts, evidence and research, are integral to effective civic engagement,” Oudkirk said.
David Shullman, senior director of the Global China Hub at the US-based think tank the Atlantic Council, also spoke at the forum, warning of China’s disinformation campaign targeting Taiwan.
Beijing’s Taiwan-focused disinformation efforts used to be “primarily focused on promoting a positive narrative, making the argument that unification will restore cultural ties and bring economic benefits to Taiwan,” Shullman said.
However, as support for the “one country, two systems” model has faded in Taiwan, Chinese disinformation is now primarily directed at undermining trust in democracy and Taiwan’s government, he said.
With Taiwan’s rich experience in combating Chinese disinformation, it has also become an expert in this area, he said.
“Taiwan has combined high-tech efforts with more analogue solutions, like improving government communication, crowdsourcing and maintaining tools for fact-checking and countering conspiracies and propaganda, and expanding the media literacy of education,” he said.
The two-day workshop is organized by the Taiwan Foundation for Democracy, a government-funded non-governmental organization.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday voiced dissatisfaction with the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans- Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), whose latest meeting, concluded earlier the same day, appeared not to address the country’s application. In a statement, MOFA said the CPTPP commission had "once again failed to fairly process Taiwan’s application," attributing the inaction to the bloc’s "succumbing to political pressure," without elaborating. Taiwan submitted its CPTPP application under the name "Separate Customs Territory of Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen and Matsu" on Sept. 22, 2021 -- less than a week after China
THE GOOD WORD: More than 100 colleges on both sides of the Pacific will work together to bring students to Taiwan so they can learn Mandarin where it is spoken A total of 102 universities from Taiwan and the US are collaborating in a push to promote Taiwan as the first-choice place to learn Mandarin, with seven Mandarin learning centers stood up in the US to train and support teachers, the Foundation for International Cooperation in Higher Education of Taiwan (FICHET) said. At the annual convention of the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages held over the weekend in New Orleans, Louisiana, a Taiwan Pavilion was jointly run by 17 representative teams from the FICHET, the Overseas Community Affairs Council, the Steering Committee for the Test of Proficiency-Huayu, the
A home-style restaurant opened by a Taiwanese woman in Quezon City in Metro Manila has been featured in the first-ever Michelin Guide honoring exceptional restaurants in the Philippines. The restaurant, Fong Wei Wu (豐味屋), was one of 74 eateries to receive a “Michelin Selected” honor in the guide, while one restaurant received two Michelin stars, eight received one star and 25 were awarded a “Bib Gourmand.” The guide, which was limited to restaurants in Metro Manila and Cebu, was published on Oct. 30. In an interview, Feng Wei Wu’s owner and chef, Linda, said that as a restaurateur in her 60s, receiving an
MORE RETALIATION: China would adopt a long-term pressure strategy to prevent other countries or future prime ministers following in Sanae Takaichi’s steps, an academic said Taiwan should maintain communications with Japan, as Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi is to lead a revision of security documents, Taiwanese academics said yesterday. Tensions have risen between Japan and China over remarks by Takaichi earlier this month that the use of force against Taiwan would constitute a “survival-threatening situation” for Japan. Prospect Foundation president Lai I-chung (賴怡忠) yesterday said Takaichi’s stance regarding Taiwan is the same as past Japanese prime ministers, but her position is clearer than that of her predecessors Fumio Kishida and Shigeru Ishiba. Although Japan views a “Taiwan contingency” as a “survival-threatening situation,” which would allow its military to
RSS