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The Hoover Institution's Project on Taiwan in the Indo-Pacific Region held The Fimi Challenge: Countering Foreign Information Manipulation and Interference in Taiwan and the United States on Monday, March 9, 2026 from 2:00 - 5:00 PM PT.
The FIMI Challenge in Open Societies
This event explored the practice of foreign information manipulation and interference (FIMI) in democracies in Taiwan and the United States, and the responses of both country’s governments, private companies, and civil society organizations to this challenge.
In Taiwan, the threat of influence and interference from the People’s Republic of China (PRC) in its information ecosystem looms large. The Taiwan government has struggled to develop an effective response while balancing respect for civil liberties and freedom of speech: a tension manifested in the decision in December 2025 to ban the social media platform Rednote (xiaohongshu).
In the United States, efforts during the Biden administration to limit the spread of COVID misinformation online – some of it clearly tied to foreign influence campaigns originating in the PRC – led to a political backlash, and as a consequence some social media companies have taken a more passive approach to FIMI. At the same time, however, motivated by worries about PRC influence and data security of American citizens, the US Congress passed a law requiring the Chinese company Bytedance to divest from its popular platform TikTok or face a government-imposed ban in the US market. With a compromise agreement now brokered by the Trump administration, TikTok remains available in the United States, but the underlying concerns about social media platforms as vectors for PRC influence remain.
This symposium brought together several experts from Taiwan and the United States who discussed the FIMI challenge, including the efforts of private social media companies, civil society organizations, and governments in both places.
In Taiwan, the threat of influence and interference from the People’s Republic of China (PRC) in its information ecosystem looms large. The Taiwan government has struggled to develop an effective response while balancing respect for civil liberties and freedom of speech: a tension manifested in the decision in December 2025 to ban the social media platform Rednote (xiaohongshu).
In the United States, efforts during the Biden administration to limit the spread of COVID misinformation online – some of it clearly tied to foreign influence campaigns originating in the PRC – led to a political backlash, and as a consequence some social media companies have taken a more passive approach to FIMI. At the same time, however, motivated by worries about PRC influence and data security of American citizens, the US Congress passed a law requiring the Chinese company Bytedance to divest from its popular platform TikTok or face a government-imposed ban in the US market. With a compromise agreement now brokered by the Trump administration, TikTok remains available in the United States, but the underlying concerns about social media platforms as vectors for PRC influence remain.
This symposium brought together several experts from Taiwan and the United States who discussed the FIMI challenge, including the efforts of private social media companies, civil society organizations, and governments in both places.
About the Speakers
Jerry Yu is a senior analyst at Doublethink Lab, where he specializes in conducting digital investigations and analyzing influence operations. In 2022 and 2024, Jerry has extensive experience in observing influence operations during both local and national elections, including training part-time analysts, managing data collection processes, and publishing reports based on the findings.
Drawing from his elections observation experience, he has collaborated on cross-national projects by sharing the experience and knowledge with journalists, NGOs, and researchers across South, Southeast, East Asia, and the Pacific region. The collaborations are to expose the techniques of influence operations used by threat actors and share the intelligence together. During the Ukrainian-Russian war, he tracked the propaganda spread by the PRC and published a report, ‘Analysis: How Ukraine has been Nazified in the Chinese information space?’
Before joining the Doublethink Lab, he was a research assistant at the Center for Survey Research Center at the Academia Sinica, Taiwan, where he combined traditional social scientific methods with computational approaches to analyze the process, dynamics, and effects of human communication behaviors through the integration of user log and self-reported data from survey or experiment.
Jerry graduated from the Graduate School of Criminology at the National Taipei University, and is also trained in crime spatial analysis with the Temple University in the United States for a semester. He is also a co-producer and co-host of the “Jianghu 543” podcast, which provides insights into the lives of individuals in Taiwan’s criminal justice system.
Drawing from his elections observation experience, he has collaborated on cross-national projects by sharing the experience and knowledge with journalists, NGOs, and researchers across South, Southeast, East Asia, and the Pacific region. The collaborations are to expose the techniques of influence operations used by threat actors and share the intelligence together. During the Ukrainian-Russian war, he tracked the propaganda spread by the PRC and published a report, ‘Analysis: How Ukraine has been Nazified in the Chinese information space?’
Before joining the Doublethink Lab, he was a research assistant at the Center for Survey Research Center at the Academia Sinica, Taiwan, where he combined traditional social scientific methods with computational approaches to analyze the process, dynamics, and effects of human communication behaviors through the integration of user log and self-reported data from survey or experiment.
Jerry graduated from the Graduate School of Criminology at the National Taipei University, and is also trained in crime spatial analysis with the Temple University in the United States for a semester. He is also a co-producer and co-host of the “Jianghu 543” podcast, which provides insights into the lives of individuals in Taiwan’s criminal justice system.
You-Hao Lai is a practicing lawyer currently pursuing his doctorate at The George Washington University Law School. He currently serves as Deputy Director of the Democratic Governance Program at DSET. His research explores legal and policy responses to the challenges posed by digital authoritarianism to cybersecurity and the free flow of information. He is actively engaged in various civil movements related to technology regulation and human rights protection. Before joining DSET, he worked at the Cogito Law Office, a prominent firm specializing in public interest litigation in Taiwan. Additionally, he served as a legal and policy advisor to the President of the Judicial Yuan, Taiwan’s highest judicial organ. He holds LL.M. degrees from the National Taiwan University College of Law and Harvard Law School.
Wei-Ping Li earned her Ph.D. from the Philip Merrill College of Journalism at the University of Maryland. She serves as an adjunct lecturer at Merrill College and works as a researcher with UMD's Maryland Democracy Initiative. Li is also the research director at FactLink, a Taiwan-based organization dedicated to OSINT (open-source intelligence) investigations and enhancing digital literacy among Chinese-speaking communities.
Li's research focuses on the transnational dissemination of false information, conspiracy theories, propaganda and content moderation policy. From 2024-25, she held the position of postdoctoral researcher at UMD, collaborating with Dr. Sarah Oates and Dr. Naeemul Hassan on the "Disarming Disinformation" program, which is coordinated by the International Center for Journalists (ICFJ). Li was also a research fellow at the Taiwan Factcheck Center (TFC) from 2023-25.
Before pursuing an academic career in journalism, she provided consulting services on digital human rights in Asia. She also previously worked as a journalist covering financial and legal topics in Taiwan for several years.
Li is a licensed lawyer in New York state. She earned her LL.M. (Master of Laws) degrees from the University of Pennsylvania Law School and Soochow University (Taiwan), as well as a Master of Arts degree in journalism from National ChengChi University (Taiwan).
Li's research focuses on the transnational dissemination of false information, conspiracy theories, propaganda and content moderation policy. From 2024-25, she held the position of postdoctoral researcher at UMD, collaborating with Dr. Sarah Oates and Dr. Naeemul Hassan on the "Disarming Disinformation" program, which is coordinated by the International Center for Journalists (ICFJ). Li was also a research fellow at the Taiwan Factcheck Center (TFC) from 2023-25.
Before pursuing an academic career in journalism, she provided consulting services on digital human rights in Asia. She also previously worked as a journalist covering financial and legal topics in Taiwan for several years.
Li is a licensed lawyer in New York state. She earned her LL.M. (Master of Laws) degrees from the University of Pennsylvania Law School and Soochow University (Taiwan), as well as a Master of Arts degree in journalism from National ChengChi University (Taiwan).
Graham Webster is a research scholar in the Program on Geopolitics, Technology, and Governance and editor-in-chief of the DigiChina Project at the Center for International Security and Cooperation at Stanford University. He researches, writes, and teaches on technology policy in China and US-China relations.
Before bringing DigiChina to Stanford in 2019, he was its cofounder and coordinating editor at New America, where he was a China digital economy fellow. From 2012 to 2017, Webster worked for Yale Law School as a senior fellow and lecturer responsible for the Paul Tsai China Center’s Track II dialogues between the United States and China and co-taught seminars on contemporary China and Chinese law and policy. While there, he was an affiliated fellow with the Yale Information Society Project, a visiting scholar at China Foreign Affairs University, and a Transatlantic Digital Debates fellow with New America and the Global Public Policy Institute in Berlin. He was previously an adjunct instructor teaching East Asian politics at New York University and a Beijing-based journalist writing on the Internet in China for CNET News.
Webster holds a bachelor's in journalism and international studies from Northwestern University and a master's in East Asian studies from Harvard University. He took doctoral coursework in political science at the University of Washington and language training at Tsinghua University, Peking University, Stanford University, and Kanda University of International Studies.
Before bringing DigiChina to Stanford in 2019, he was its cofounder and coordinating editor at New America, where he was a China digital economy fellow. From 2012 to 2017, Webster worked for Yale Law School as a senior fellow and lecturer responsible for the Paul Tsai China Center’s Track II dialogues between the United States and China and co-taught seminars on contemporary China and Chinese law and policy. While there, he was an affiliated fellow with the Yale Information Society Project, a visiting scholar at China Foreign Affairs University, and a Transatlantic Digital Debates fellow with New America and the Global Public Policy Institute in Berlin. He was previously an adjunct instructor teaching East Asian politics at New York University and a Beijing-based journalist writing on the Internet in China for CNET News.
Webster holds a bachelor's in journalism and international studies from Northwestern University and a master's in East Asian studies from Harvard University. He took doctoral coursework in political science at the University of Washington and language training at Tsinghua University, Peking University, Stanford University, and Kanda University of International Studies.
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The Project on Taiwan in the Indo-Pacific Region at the Hoover Institution held The International Dimensions of China’s Lawfare against Taiwan on Friday, November 14, 2025 from 12 p.m. - 1:30 p.m. PT in the Herbert Hoover Memorial Building, Room 160.
For several years, the People’s Republic of China (PRC) has ramped up its pressure on international organizations and on third countries to endorse its preferred position on the legal status of Taiwan. This campaign has born fruit for Beijing: it has made significant gains in the number of countries now signing joint statements that accept the “one China principle” – that there is only one China, that Taiwan is part of China, and that the legal representative of China is the PRC with its capital in Beijing and led by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). These shifts in policy have been made possible in part by the PRC’s growing economic and diplomatic clout in the world, and by its increased willingness to make the one-China principle a precondition for bilateral cooperation on other issues.
To explore this issue further, this symposium brought together several experts on the topic of People’s Republic of China (PRC) coercion against Taiwan, including its efforts to deepen Taiwan’s international isolation, bolster the claim that cross-Strait relations are China’s “internal affairs,” and build international legal justifications to legitimate further coercion and potentially the use of military force against Taiwan.
For several years, the People’s Republic of China (PRC) has ramped up its pressure on international organizations and on third countries to endorse its preferred position on the legal status of Taiwan. This campaign has born fruit for Beijing: it has made significant gains in the number of countries now signing joint statements that accept the “one China principle” – that there is only one China, that Taiwan is part of China, and that the legal representative of China is the PRC with its capital in Beijing and led by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). These shifts in policy have been made possible in part by the PRC’s growing economic and diplomatic clout in the world, and by its increased willingness to make the one-China principle a precondition for bilateral cooperation on other issues.
To explore this issue further, this symposium brought together several experts on the topic of People’s Republic of China (PRC) coercion against Taiwan, including its efforts to deepen Taiwan’s international isolation, bolster the claim that cross-Strait relations are China’s “internal affairs,” and build international legal justifications to legitimate further coercion and potentially the use of military force against Taiwan.
About the Speakers
Ja Ian Chong is an associate professor of political science at the National University of Singapore and a nonresident scholar at Carnegie China, Carnegie’s East Asia-based research center on contemporary China, where he examines U.S.-China dynamics in Southeast Asia and the broader Asia-Pacific. He received his PhD from Princeton University in 2008 and previously taught at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. His research covers the intersection of international and domestic politics, with a focus on the externalities of major power competition, nationalism, regional order, security, contentious politics, and state formation. He also works on U.S.-China relations, security and order in Northeast and Southeast Asia, cross-strait relations, and Taiwan’s politics.
Elisa Zhai Autry is a research fellow at Stanford University’s Hoover Institution, where she contributes to the Human Security Project, advancing security, liberty, and prosperity in authoritarian countries. Previously, Dr. Autry served as principal policy advisor on Global China and East Asia and Pacific Affairs in the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs at the US Department of State. As the bureau’s China expert and chief liaison for diplomatic affairs involving China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan, she played a key role in shaping public diplomacy strategies and advancing US foreign policy objectives worldwide.
Glenn Tiffert is a distinguished research fellow at the Hoover Institution and a historian of modern China. He co-chairs Hoover’s program on the US, China, and the World, and also leads Stanford’s participation in the National Science Foundation’s SECURE program, a $67 million effort authorized by the CHIPS and Science Act of 2022 to enhance the security and integrity of the US research enterprise.
Ja Ian Chong is an associate professor of political science at the National University of Singapore and a nonresident scholar at Carnegie China, Carnegie’s East Asia-based research center on contemporary China, where he examines U.S.-China dynamics in Southeast Asia and the broader Asia-Pacific. He received his PhD from Princeton University in 2008 and previously taught at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. His research covers the intersection of international and domestic politics, with a focus on the externalities of major power competition, nationalism, regional order, security, contentious politics, and state formation. He also works on U.S.-China relations, security and order in Northeast and Southeast Asia, cross-strait relations, and Taiwan’s politics.
Elisa Zhai Autry is a research fellow at Stanford University’s Hoover Institution, where she contributes to the Human Security Project, advancing security, liberty, and prosperity in authoritarian countries. Previously, Dr. Autry served as principal policy advisor on Global China and East Asia and Pacific Affairs in the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs at the US Department of State. As the bureau’s China expert and chief liaison for diplomatic affairs involving China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan, she played a key role in shaping public diplomacy strategies and advancing US foreign policy objectives worldwide.
Glenn Tiffert is a distinguished research fellow at the Hoover Institution and a historian of modern China. He co-chairs Hoover’s program on the US, China, and the World, and also leads Stanford’s participation in the National Science Foundation’s SECURE program, a $67 million effort authorized by the CHIPS and Science Act of 2022 to enhance the security and integrity of the US research enterprise.
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The Stanford Global Digital Policy Incubator, the Hoover Project on Taiwan in the Indo-Pacific Region, the Research Institute for Democracy, Society, and Emerging Technology (DSET), and the Taiwan Science and Technology Hub invite you to an engaging discussion on generative artificial intelligence and democracy. Join us on Tuesday, October 29, 2024, from 4:00 PM to 5:30 PM (Pacific) in the Philippines Conference Room at Encina Hall. DSET is a think tank established in 2023 under the National Science and Technology Council (NSTC) of Taiwan. Its future-oriented vision of science and technology policies aim to safeguard democratic values.
During this event, Dr. Kai-Shen Huang, Research Fellow at DSET, will launch their new report, "GenAI and Democracy: AI-Driven Disinformation in Taiwan’s 2024 Presidential Election and Lessons for the World." Dr. Huang will discuss Taiwan's experience using regulation to counter disinformation and he will offer technical solutions available to other democratic societies. Following the report presentation, a panel of experts from the Stanford Cyber Policy Center and the Hoover Institution will provide feedback and share their thoughts on the future of AI development and regulations globally.
During this event, Dr. Kai-Shen Huang, Research Fellow at DSET, will launch their new report, "GenAI and Democracy: AI-Driven Disinformation in Taiwan’s 2024 Presidential Election and Lessons for the World." Dr. Huang will discuss Taiwan's experience using regulation to counter disinformation and he will offer technical solutions available to other democratic societies. Following the report presentation, a panel of experts from the Stanford Cyber Policy Center and the Hoover Institution will provide feedback and share their thoughts on the future of AI development and regulations globally.
Opening Remarks
Larry Diamond, Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution and Mosbacher Senior Fellow of Global Democracy at the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies
Introduction
Jeremy Chang, Research Fellow & CEO, DSET
Report Presentation
Kai-Shen Huang, Research Fellow, DSET
Panel Discussion - Generative AI, regulation, and its impacts globally
Panelists
Kai-Shen Huang, Research Fellow, DSET
Florence G’Sell, Visiting Professor, CPC
Sergey Sanovich, Hoover Fellow
Margaret Tu, University of Washington
Moderator
Charles Mok, Research Scholar, GDPi
Larry Diamond, Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution and Mosbacher Senior Fellow of Global Democracy at the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies
Introduction
Jeremy Chang, Research Fellow & CEO, DSET
Report Presentation
Kai-Shen Huang, Research Fellow, DSET
Panel Discussion - Generative AI, regulation, and its impacts globally
Panelists
Kai-Shen Huang, Research Fellow, DSET
Florence G’Sell, Visiting Professor, CPC
Sergey Sanovich, Hoover Fellow
Margaret Tu, University of Washington
Moderator
Charles Mok, Research Scholar, GDPi
Participant Bios
Charles Mok is a Research Scholar at the Global Digital Policy Incubator of the Cyber Policy Center at Stanford University, a member of the Board of Trustees of the Internet Society, and a board member of the International Centre for Trade Transparency and Monitoring. Charles served as an elected member of the Legislative Council in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, representing the Information Technology functional constituency, for two terms from 2012 to 2020. In 2021, he founded Tech for Good Asia, an initiative to advocate positive use of technology for businesses and civil communities.
Kai-Shen Huang graduated from the University of Oxford and National Taiwan University, possessing interdisciplinary training in both anthropology and law. His research expertise includes China’s critical technology policies, the application of artificial intelligence in dispute resolution and public administration, and legal anthropology.
Florence G’sell is a visiting professor of private law at the Cyber Policy Center, where she leads the Program on Governance of Emerging Technologies. She also holds the Digital, Governance, and Sovereignty Chair at Sciences Po (France) and is a professor of private law at the University of Lorraine (currently on leave). G’sell began her academic career focusing on tort law, judicial systems, and comparative law. In recent years, her work has concentrated on digital law, particularly in the regulation of online platforms, the legal challenges posed by emerging technologies such as blockchain and the metaverse, and the concept of digital sovereignty.
Sergey Sanovich is a Hoover Fellow at the Hoover Institution. Before joining the Hoover Institution, Sergey Sanovich was a postdoctoral research associate at the Center for Information Technology Policy at Princeton University. Sanovich received his PhD in political science from New York University and continues his affiliation with its Center for Social Media and Politics. His research is focused on disinformation and social media platform governance; online censorship and propaganda by authoritarian regimes; and elections and partisanship in information autocracies.
Margaret Tu also known as Nikal Kabala'an, hailing from Taiwan's Indigenous communities, is a dynamic young leader with a passion for interdisciplinary pursuits. She actively engages in Indigenous self-determination and decolonization, contributing to social justice movements and curating exhibitions at prestigious institutions like the Burke Museum and the Tateuchi East Asia Library. Margaret is an accomplished legal researcher with expertise in Intellectual Property laws and a keen interest in technology-related policies, including Artificial Intelligence and Data Governance.
Charles Mok is a Research Scholar at the Global Digital Policy Incubator of the Cyber Policy Center at Stanford University, a member of the Board of Trustees of the Internet Society, and a board member of the International Centre for Trade Transparency and Monitoring. Charles served as an elected member of the Legislative Council in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, representing the Information Technology functional constituency, for two terms from 2012 to 2020. In 2021, he founded Tech for Good Asia, an initiative to advocate positive use of technology for businesses and civil communities.
Kai-Shen Huang graduated from the University of Oxford and National Taiwan University, possessing interdisciplinary training in both anthropology and law. His research expertise includes China’s critical technology policies, the application of artificial intelligence in dispute resolution and public administration, and legal anthropology.
Florence G’sell is a visiting professor of private law at the Cyber Policy Center, where she leads the Program on Governance of Emerging Technologies. She also holds the Digital, Governance, and Sovereignty Chair at Sciences Po (France) and is a professor of private law at the University of Lorraine (currently on leave). G’sell began her academic career focusing on tort law, judicial systems, and comparative law. In recent years, her work has concentrated on digital law, particularly in the regulation of online platforms, the legal challenges posed by emerging technologies such as blockchain and the metaverse, and the concept of digital sovereignty.
Sergey Sanovich is a Hoover Fellow at the Hoover Institution. Before joining the Hoover Institution, Sergey Sanovich was a postdoctoral research associate at the Center for Information Technology Policy at Princeton University. Sanovich received his PhD in political science from New York University and continues his affiliation with its Center for Social Media and Politics. His research is focused on disinformation and social media platform governance; online censorship and propaganda by authoritarian regimes; and elections and partisanship in information autocracies.
Margaret Tu also known as Nikal Kabala'an, hailing from Taiwan's Indigenous communities, is a dynamic young leader with a passion for interdisciplinary pursuits. She actively engages in Indigenous self-determination and decolonization, contributing to social justice movements and curating exhibitions at prestigious institutions like the Burke Museum and the Tateuchi East Asia Library. Margaret is an accomplished legal researcher with expertise in Intellectual Property laws and a keen interest in technology-related policies, including Artificial Intelligence and Data Governance.
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On behalf of the Project on Taiwan in the Indo-Pacific Region and The Global Policy and Strategy Initiative, the Hoover Institution invites you to Taiwan After the 2024 Elections Annual Conference, Thursday, May 23, 2024, from 8:30 AM - 5:15 PM to Friday, May 24, 2024 from 8:45 AM - 2:00 PM in HHMB 160.
Taiwan’s next president William Lai (賴清德) takes office on May 20, 2024. His victory in the January 2024 elections ensures that the ruling Democracy Progressive Party (DPP) will hold the presidency for an unprecedented third consecutive term. But Lai won only 40 percent of the presidential vote, and the opposition Kuomintang (KMT) and Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) together now control a majority of the seats in the legislature. President-elect Lai’s new administration is also likely to face continued pressure from the People’s Republic of China (PRC), and he will have to deal with an increasingly complex and uncertain international environment.
Join us as we bring together a diverse group of experts to discuss the policy challenges and opportunities that the incoming Lai administration will face. It will feature panels on the 2024 election results, governance challenges, the future of Taiwan’s economy, security and defense issues, US-Taiwan-PRC relations, and perspectives of key U.S. allies and partners on the U.S.-Taiwan relationship.
This conference will bring together a diverse group of experts to discuss the policy challenges and opportunities that the incoming Lai administration will face. It will feature panels on the 2024 election results, governance challenges, the future of Taiwan’s economy, security and defense issues, US-Taiwan-PRC relations, and perspectives of key U.S. allies and partners on the U.S.-Taiwan relationship.
Taiwan’s next president William Lai (賴清德) takes office on May 20, 2024. His victory in the January 2024 elections ensures that the ruling Democracy Progressive Party (DPP) will hold the presidency for an unprecedented third consecutive term. But Lai won only 40 percent of the presidential vote, and the opposition Kuomintang (KMT) and Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) together now control a majority of the seats in the legislature. President-elect Lai’s new administration is also likely to face continued pressure from the People’s Republic of China (PRC), and he will have to deal with an increasingly complex and uncertain international environment.
Join us as we bring together a diverse group of experts to discuss the policy challenges and opportunities that the incoming Lai administration will face. It will feature panels on the 2024 election results, governance challenges, the future of Taiwan’s economy, security and defense issues, US-Taiwan-PRC relations, and perspectives of key U.S. allies and partners on the U.S.-Taiwan relationship.
This conference will bring together a diverse group of experts to discuss the policy challenges and opportunities that the incoming Lai administration will face. It will feature panels on the 2024 election results, governance challenges, the future of Taiwan’s economy, security and defense issues, US-Taiwan-PRC relations, and perspectives of key U.S. allies and partners on the U.S.-Taiwan relationship.
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On March 18, the Hoover Project on Taiwan in the Indo-Pacific will host an event examining the state of and challenges to Taiwan's media freedom. In December 2020, Taiwan’s National Communications Commission (國家通訊傳播委員會) voted to deny a broadcast license to CTiTV (中天電視), a pro-China news channel that had been highly critical of the Taiwanese government and ruling party, the DPP. This decision marks the first time a TV channel has been forced off the air for violation of the terms of its license since Taiwan became a democracy. CTiTV is part of the Want Want China Times media group, a media conglomerate owned and run by the pro-unification snack foods magnate Tsai Eng-meng, and it has been accused of coordinating its reporting with the Taiwan Affairs Office in Beijing. However, until being forced off the air, it was also a popular source of news among supporters of the opposition KMT and an important voice in Taiwan’s diverse and critical TV landscape.
In this moderated discussion, three panelists from Taiwan will consider the complex issues this decision raises and debate when -- and if -- it is ever appropriate for government to regulate media content and limit access to the broadcast spectrum in a liberal democracy. Registration is free and open to the public.
Some additional somewhat disjointed thoughts follow...
In this moderated discussion, three panelists from Taiwan will consider the complex issues this decision raises and debate when -- and if -- it is ever appropriate for government to regulate media content and limit access to the broadcast spectrum in a liberal democracy. Registration is free and open to the public.
Some additional somewhat disjointed thoughts follow...
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I have a piece out in the latest issue of the Journal of Democracy on Chinese efforts to influence Taiwan politics, and why they failed in the January 2020 elections. After the DPP lost badly in the 2018 local elections, there was a lot of speculation (see, e.g. here, here, here, here, and here) that Beijing would be emboldened by these results and expand its efforts to sway the 2020 campaign and turn President Tsai Ing-wen and the DPP out of office, or failing that, would find ways to delegitimize the results and destabilize Taiwan's democracy. In the end, that didn't happen: Tsai recovered from a politically shaky first term to win an even larger share of the vote than in 2016, the DPP held onto its legislative majority, and Tsai's main opponent, Han Kuo-yu of the KMT, openly conceded defeat on election night.
In the article, I lay out several reasons why these fears did not come to pass in 2020, and why Taiwan's democracy has repeatedly proven resilient to PRC pressure campaigns.
In the article, I lay out several reasons why these fears did not come to pass in 2020, and why Taiwan's democracy has repeatedly proven resilient to PRC pressure campaigns.
- The CCP is still pretty bad at influencing public opinion: Beijing's covert influence operations have been surprisingly clumsy, badly disguised, and at odds with the long-term goals of Taiwan policy under Xi Jinping.
- Partisanship can be a good thing: The high salience of the China factor and Taiwan's partisan divides make it hard to execute the kind of United Front-led, covert and coercive activities that the CCP favors for most of its influence operations elsewhere in the world.
- State capacity lives: The Taiwanese state is still quite capable of responding effectively to the threat of foreign interference in elections when it takes them seriously, and the 2018 elections provided a belated wake-up call to this danger.
- A free society helps: Taiwanese civil society, including parts of the media and NGOs, as well as private social media companies, managed to mitigate the impact of disinformation. Facebook, for instance, took down over a hundred Han Kuo-yu fan pages the month before the election for "inauthentic activity."
- Low-tech elections are an important backstop for democracy: Taiwan's election management system is very low-tech, but it is also transparent, accurate, efficient, fast, and fair. (For more details, see here.) Nobody disputed the election results, shocking as they were to some of Han Kuo-yu's core supporters who had believed the polls were fake and that Tsai would lose. The high trust in the voting and counting process had a lot to do with that.
The full article is available via Project Muse, and access is free through August 15, 2020.