On October 25, the Global Taiwan Institute hosted the public seminar, Authoritarian Influence, Democratization, and Taiwan, which focused on the rise of authoritarian influence and democratic responses, both in the Asia-Pacific region and worldwide. In particular, our panel discussed the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) multi-pronged efforts to subvert established and fledgling democracies, while entrenching authoritarian tendencies. As a longstanding target of CCP influence operations and a strong proponent of democratization, Taiwan can and has already played a significant role in democracy promotion and countering China’s influence operations. Our panelists analyzed these efforts and discussed Taiwan’s potential role in countering these projects. Panelists included Louisa Greve, former Director for East Asia at NED, Joshua Kurlantzick, Senior Fellow for Southeast Asia at the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR), and Mark Lagon, Chief Policy Officer at Friends of the Global Fight Against AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria.
This panel was part of the Civil Society and Democracy series of public seminars, funded in part by the Taiwan Foundation for Democracy. The series will continue throughout the year and focus on various topics relating to Taiwan’s democracy and human rights. The Taiwan Foundation for Democracy is a non-profit, non-partisan organization and is the first national democracy assistance foundation to be established in Asia, and is devoted to strengthening democracy and human rights in Taiwan and abroad.