2023-08-17
DPP: Brookings Delegation Visits DPP, Discusses Taiwan-U.S. Ties, Regional Security and More
Ryan Hass, director of the John L. Thornton China Center and the Chen-Fu and Cecilia Yen Koo Chair in Taiwan Studies at Brookings Institution, led a delegation to visit the Democratic Progressive Party on August 17, with the two sides exchanging views on U.S.-Taiwan relations, economic cooperation, regional security, disinformation and Taiwan’s coming presidential election. They were received by Lo Chih-cheng, legislator and executive director of the Committee on Policy Research and Coordination, and other staff members at the DPP.
Joining Ryan Hass were Dr. Mireya Solís, director of the East Policy Research Center at Brookings Institution; Dr. Jennifer M. Lind, an associate professor of the department of government at Dartmouth College; Dr. Melanie W. Sisson, a fellow in the Foreign Policy program and Strobe Talbott Center for Security, Strategy, and Technology at Brookings Institution; and Jeniffer Mason, associate director of Center for East Asia Policy Studies at Brookings Institution.
During the meeting, members of the delegation specifically raised questions about the impact of disinformation on the coming general elections. Legislator Lo Chih-cheng pointed out that China is clearly trying to manipulate democratic elections through information warfare, which has attracted international attention. While hard to overcome, the challenge of disinformation is not insurmountable; improved media literacy and spontaneous fact-checking by civil society will go far to help tackle it.
Vincent Chao, director of the Department of International Affairs, raised the example of disinformation promulgated during Vice President Lai Ching-te’s transit in the U.S., and analyzed China’s approaches to spreading it. Alysa Chiu Wen Li, deputy director of the Department of International Affairs, provided additional information about China’s tactics of interfering in Taiwan's elections through economic coercion. In recent years, those tactics have become more subtle than ever.
As for the delegation's questions regarding Taiwan-U.S. economic cooperation, Lo indicated that the U.S. and Taiwan need to develop more-diverse trade ties to lessen dependence on China and thereby preclude China’s economic coercion. Lo stressed the Taiwan-U.S. Initiative on 21st Century Trade benefits both nations, saying he looks forward to the next round of negotiations.
As for cross-strait policy, Chao pointed out Vice President Lai has clarified his stance on cross-strait relations and foreign policy in his interviews with Bloomberg. He will maintain the cross-strait status quo and work to preserve peace and regional security if elected. He will also continue deepening cooperation with the U.S. and other democratic partners.
