Innovating Citizen Engagement: Taiwan’s Leadership in Civic Technology

The Global Taiwan Institute (GTI) is pleased to invite you to a panel discussion titled “Innovating Citizen Engagement: Taiwan’s Leadership in Civic Technology.” Taiwan’s civic technology community stands at the forefront of defending democracy amidst escalating threats from disinformation and political interference from China. Through groundbreaking digital solutions, grassroots initiatives, and collaborative efforts, Taiwanese citizens are not only safeguarding democratic values but also advancing public engagement and transparency. Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Taiwan showcased exceptional collaboration between its central and local governments, private sector, and civil society. This unified effort was vital in producing masks, organizing quarantine facilities, securing vaccines, and addressing misinformation. Tools developed by civic technology activists, such as the "Auntie Meiyu" chatbot, have played a key role in helping citizens discern fake news. Such successes have garnered international recognition and acclaim, and made Taiwan a model for other democracies resisting authoritarian pressure.

This event will spotlight the critical role of these technological innovations in strengthening democratic processes and addressing Taiwan's security challenges. Attendees will hear from leading experts and practitioners about the transformative projects that are setting new global standards for civic tech. Join us to gain insights into how these advancements are reshaping the future of democracy and public participation, in both Taiwan and the wider world.

The event will be live-streamed through YouTube beginning on Tuesday, September 17 at 12:00 PM EDT. Questions for the panel may either be sent by e-mail to [email protected], or through the chat function on YouTube. Please direct questions or concerns to GTI Program Manager Adrienne Wu at [email protected].
The Panelists:
Ipa is co-founder of g0v.tw, a civic tech community in Taiwan starting from 2012. She is a writer and documentary director. She has focused on citizen engagement and public participation for the past 12 years within the g0v community, which promotes online collaboration through open source culture between civil society and public institutions. She will publish her second book at the end of 2024, which is about her sociologist father and the intellectual community during Taiwan's democratization process in the 1990s.

Richard Haddock is the assistant director at the Sigur Center for Asian Studies at the George Washington University. He is also a member of the UC Berkeley US-Taiwan Next Generation Working Group, where he is conducting a research project on the current state and future prospects of Taiwan Studies in the United States. He has also held positions at the National Democratic Institute’s Asia team, the American Institute in Taiwan’s Public Diplomacy Section, and the US Department of State. Mr. Haddock is currently pursuing a PhD in Public Policy and Public Administration at The George Washington University, focusing on digital democracy and e-governance development in the Asia-Pacific. He holds an MA in Asian Studies from the Elliott School, with a concentration on domestic politics and foreign policy of East Asia. He graduated from the University of Central Florida with a BA in Political Science and minors in Asian Studies and Diplomacy.

Carol Hsu is currently a senior software engineer at Oyster. Before her position at Oyster, she worked as a product manager and engineering manager at Gogolook. In this position, she led the development of the LINE fact checking bot, "Auntie Meiyu" (美玉姨). Auntie Meiyu helps hundreds of thousands of Taiwanese discern between true and false information on LINE. She is also pursuing her MBA at the Simon Business School at the University of Rochester.

June Lin is the senior program manager for Asia-Pacific programs at National Democratic Institute (NDI), overseeing the institute’s Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Asia-Pacific regional programs to counter China’s illiberal influence. With over eight years of experience in the non-profit sector in the US and Taiwan, Ms. Lin began her endeavors in the democracy, rights, and governance sector as an activist in the 2014 Taiwan Sunflower Movement. In 2016, Ms. Lin moved to the United States and joined the Formosan Association for Public Affairs (FAPA) as a policy expert focusing on US-Taiwan relations. Before joining NDI, she worked at Freedom House and the International Republican Institute (IRI), focusing on supporting civil society actors in China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and the Uyghur communities. In her personal capacity, Ms. Lin also serves as the Board Secretary of the Hong Kong Democracy Council (HKDC), and as an advisor to Doublethink Lab (DTL).

The Moderator:
Ben Levine is a program assistant at the Global Taiwan Institute. He graduated from George Washington University with a MA in Chinese Language and Culture. Ben received his BA from Boston University majoring in international relations, with a functional concentration in international economics and a regional concentration in Asia. Previously, Ben was awarded a fellowship from the Taiwan Education and Research Program at GWU to research Taiwanese defense policy and hypothetical US responses. He also was awarded a Huayu Enrichment Scholarship in August 2022, allowing him to spend 9 months in Taipei at National Chengchi University studying Mandarin. His research focuses on Taiwan’s defense policy and various social and economic issues in Taiwan.

Host or Publisher Global Taiwan Institute