Taiwan’s elections are important to democracies around the world, including the U.S.

Nov. 24, 2023

Taiwan’s upcoming election is important to the U.S. because it is a testing ground for strategies to counter disinformation.  Recent development of AI has supercharged this attack vector against global democracies.  The authors below call this sort of threat to democracy “computational propaganda” and the work is worth a read.

Computational Propaganda and Democracy in Taiwan: AI’s Impacts on Pre-Existing Challenges – Taiwan Insight

The note made by the authors that development of AI could potentially alter the landscape of political discourse drew my attention.  It’s important to see in Taiwan’s effort to maintain its democratic society, a universal lesson for democracy around the world: disinformation and election interference needs to be opposed by the whole of society working together. 

Taiwan’s experience of holding elections under these conditions is a bellwether for democratic societies that are also to have major elections in 2024, like Indonesia, India, and the U.S.  This is something the author of this second piece explicitly mentions. 

How AI could sway voters in 2024’s big elections | Chatham House – International Affairs Think Tank

Taiwan’s fight against Chinese cognitive warfare

Nov. 23, 2023 

Things are heating up in East Asia and the Asia Pacific after Biden’s talk with Xi Jinping on the sidelines of APEC this past week.  The U.S. military stages patrols with the Philippines in the waters near Taiwan now, Taiwan prepares for its general election this winter, and Australia “beefs up” its cybersecurity in the wake of many cyber attacks in recent years. 

Philippines launches joint sea, air patrols with US military | Reuters

Taiwan ruling party powers ahead as chaos engulfs opposition campaign | Reuters

Taiwan ruling party talks China policy as opposition campaign unravels | Reuters

Australia beefs up cyber defences after major breaches | Reuters

China is undoubtedly carrying on election interference and cognitive warfare in Taiwan right now. There seems to be plenty of awareness about this issue in Taiwan. And we do have a limited window into the means by which they are doing it. If you follow the Taiwan Fact Check Centers “Disinformation Detector“ newsletter, you can get some historical examples of this from the last two election cycles. The project is ongoing, but thus far an interesting fact has come up. Namely, the method that Chinese cognitive warfare is taking up to use in its effort to influence Taiwan is the use and abuse of what are called “narratives“, that is, discursive pieces that tap into current contentions in society.  I would argue there are good and bad uses of narratives, and China seems to be mostly malefic in nature, exploiting peoples existential dread. For example, there is a lot of spreading skepticism about the US, one of Taiwan’s closest allies. The US closely supports Taiwan, and public sentiment to support Taiwan is only growing in the US. Not only is the US obligated to defend Taiwan, but Taiwan is one of its essential trade partners. So it is obvious why China wants to sow doubt about this relationship. 

Although by and large Taiwanese are savvy enough to pick up on who is peddling mainland-based propaganda, some disinformation efforts have in the past had a chilling effect on voters. For example, on election day in 2020, disinformation pieces about vote rigging “provided erroneous information to make voting appear troublesome enough to discourage voters“ according to the Disinfo Detector.  Thus it is still important to debunk disinformation even as cognitive warfare moves in new directions.

The other events we see, including the US, moving into a protective role in the waters off of Taiwan, and Taiwan’s free elections themselves, are part of the resistance to Chinese cognitive warfare in the region.  This shift in the analytical paradigm is good for Taiwan, but can’t happen without increased concern for democracy, labor unions and social movements both in the US and abroad.  The world can benefit from Taiwan’s fight against Chinese cognitive warfare.

Cognitive warfare investigations

 Nov. 21, 2023

When the RAND Corporation published this year‘s report on Chinese cognitive warfare, new AI technologies had just been introduced that RAND noted as being able to turbocharge so-called astroturfing operations in cyberspace.  Astroturfing involves coordinating swarms of social media profiles to generate a false impression of grassroots support for a particular issue or advocacy campaign.  Now it seems that investigative branches of Taiwan’s government have also taken up the task of looking into Chinese astroturfing campaigns.  By looking into the flow of overseas money towards political causes and candidates, temple organizations, and social media influencers, Taiwan’s government could gain more information about Chinese cognitive warfare tactics.  The central government is also sharing information with local law enforcement and investigators about financial transactions that might coincide with election interference activities from China.  

MJIB eyes China cash ahead of elections - Taipei Times

A historical note on the Sunflower Movement in Taiwan

Nov. 17, 2023

Interview: Shen Chingkai - Daybreak Project

This piece, a conversation between two activists, sheds historical light on the situation in Taiwan.  With lessons that can apply elsewhere, it shows the continued relevance of this social movement in Taiwan.  

The Sunflower Movement was many movements rolled into one, united for a communal expression of identity.  It was not controlled centrally by one person or even one group; it could not ever have one singular expression of its ideas, nor certainly could it be described as belonging to a person, a time, or a singular quest.  Central to it was the desire of the people for more agency and concern for the plight of the youth.  What was amazing about it was the way it spoke the people’s voice and resonates still with so many people today.  Movements have power to shape the discourse, and it is remarkable how this movement did just that.  You can often see just how societies are changing by looking at social movements.  Taiwan is becoming more humane and confident.