American Institute in Taiwan

Virtual Conference on Defending Democracy

On November 9-10, AIT Director Sandra Oudkirk joined MOFA Deputy Minister Harry Tseng, JTEA Chief Representative Hiroyasu Izumi, British Office Representative John Dennis, and Slovak Representative Martin Podstavek, and Taiwan Foundation for Democracy Chairman and Legislative Speaker You Si-kun co-hosted a virtual GCTF workshop on “Defending Democracy through Media Literacy.” In her opening remarks, Director Oudkirk highlighted, “As open, democratic societies, the United States, Taiwan, and many others are particularly vulnerable to the pernicious effects of intentionally misleading and harmful misinformation… By sharing lessons learned from past disinformation efforts against our electoral processes and counter-disinformation strategies from both a legal and civil society standpoint, we can together improve media literacy in our societies and strengthen our ability to defend democracy.”

vConference on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities

AIT Director Sandra Oudkirk, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Ho-jen Tseng, Japan-Taiwan Exchange Association Chief Representative Hiroyasu Izumi, Australian Office in Taipei Representative Jennifer Bloomfield, and Israel Economic and Commercial Office Representative Omer Caspi participated in a virtual Global Cooperation and Training Framework (GCTF) workshop entitled “Implementation of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.” In her opening remarks, Director Oudkirk highlighted, “Taiwan’s exceptional commitment to align its domestic practices with international standards on upholding the rights of persons with disabilities, which is based on years of campaigning by activists and disabled persons organizations, underscoring the respect for human rights that Taiwan shares with the United States and other like-minded democracies.”

Virtual Conference on Road to Parity

Experts from Taiwan, the United States, Japan, Australia and Canada shared insights on fulfilling women’s equal participation in public life and highlight the critical issues of why women are still underrepresented in public life and how to overcome the obstacles to their full participation. Key Attendees: MOFA Minister Jaushieh Joseph Wu, AIT Director Sandra Oudkirk, Japan-Taiwan Exchange Association Chief Representative Hiroyasu Izumi, Australian Office Representative Jenny Bloomfield and the Canadian Trade Office Executive Director Jordan Reeves delivered opening remarks.

Combatting COVID-19 related Crimes

At this workshop, participants learned best practices from law enforcement experts from the United States, Taiwan, Japan, and Australia, and sharing their own experiences to take lessons learned back to their own countries to confront the new global challenge of countering COVID-19 related schemes and disinformation. AIT Deputy Director Greene said: “Excluding Taiwan from international law enforcement efforts creates dangerous loopholes that can be exploited by bad actors. COVID-19 related crimes are no exception. We hope this workshop will provide an opportunity for Taiwan to share its expertise with other partners working to address this transnational challenge.”

Workshop on Trade Secrets Protection and Digital Piracy

This two-day virtual workshop on intellectual property rights (IPR) protection focused on prosecuting theft of trade secrets and stopping digital piracy of copyrighted content. IPR protection is a critical component for economic development in the modern digital economy. Government officials with responsibility for IPR protection joined the webinar, sharing their own experiences and taking lessons learned back to their own work on confronting the common challenge of combatting IPR infringement. AIT Director Christensen opening remarks highlighted the “Four I’s,” which are the virtuous cycle of interaction, IPR protection, investment, and innovation. “Advanced economies all recognize that intellectual property rights protection is the key ingredient to attract investment and encourage innovation in order to compete in our modern global economy,” Christensen said.

Advancing International Development through Public Priv

Taking place on the margins of the United Nations General Assembly, speakers from Taipei, New York, and Tokyo shared their views on how the GCTF platform can help build public private partnerships to advance international development goals and cooperation during the workshop. AIT Director Brent Christensen said, “Using public sector policy acumen and private sector business skillsets, Taiwan and the United States will continue to reinforce democratic and free market principles that underpin our values and while spurring development for the future.”

COVID-19 and Digital Economy

This GCTF workshop was the first in a series of expert exchanges focused on the Western Hemisphere. The workshop focused on helping countries deploy digital tools to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic. Other virtual events in this series will also related to aspects of the digital economy. This webinar was the first GCTF program focused on the Western Hemisphere and will leverage digital platforms to reach participants in Latin American and Caribbean. AIT Director Brent Christensen said, “As the pandemic continues to rage across the world, Taiwan can help develop new solutions to support frontline medical and other essential workers. Taiwan set the standard for transparency, by quickly and accurately communicating risks to the general public in a way that built trust and secured voluntary cooperation. The whole world has much to learn from Taiwan’s example. Though Taiwan is prevented from participating meaningfully in the WHO, the webinar you heard today is just one of many ways tha

COVID-19: Preparing for the Second Wave (June 24, 2020)

This GCTF workshop focused on building capacity among public health officials and experts from countries across the region and beyond. AIT Director Christensen thanked partners, panelists, and attendees for the significant contributions they have made to maintain global health security in the face of this global pandemic. As U.S. Secretary Pompeo recently said: “The United States has long considered Taiwan a force for good in the world and a reliable partner. We have a shared vision for the region—one that includes rule of law, transparency, prosperity, and security for all. The recent COVID-19 pandemic provided an opportunity for the international community to see why Taiwan’s pandemic-response model is worthy of emulation.”

International Austronesian Languages Revitalization

The workshop focused on identifying ways to preserve and revitalize Austronesian languages, and was followed by an Executive Council meeting of the Austronesian Forum, a platform for dialogues established by Taiwan to promote international awareness on Austronesian cultures. This workshop was the first to take place outside Taiwan.

Defending Democracy through Media Literacy II

The workshop focused on identifying ways that disinformation can influence democratic elections and assessing media literacy campaign results, providing a platform for governments and civil society to cooperate on effective initiatives to strengthen democracy. “A well-informed citizenry that can effectively distinguish between credible and false reports is a citizenry that is better prepared to vote intelligently and hold their leaders accountable.

Network Security and Emerging Technology

The workshop focused on the importance of network security as a foundation for a dynamic digital economy. The event underscores the government’s commitment to working with regional partners in tackling global information security threats.

Women’s Economic Empowerment (Apr. 16-17, 2019)

Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen opened the two-day summit on the role of women in trade and investment, adding that “when more women are able to pursue their aspirations, our countries become more prosperous, and our region more stable.” Participants from 18 countries gathered to share and learn ways to increase female workforce participation, and to empower women to pursue their ideals.

Multi-DrugResistant Tuberculosis (Apr. 30 – May 3, 2019

Participants brainstormed ways to combat multi-drug-resistant tuberculosis with nine countries and fifteen TB-prevention professionals. This event is the sixth public-health workshop held under the GCTF framework.

Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief

Participants from 10 countries gathered to share best practices and look for ways to integrate private, civil, and public sector disaster response capabilities into regional preparedness and response efforts.

Defending Democracy through Media Literacy

Discussions touched on challenges to combating disinformation on the Internet and social media, and the roles that the government, private industry, and civil society can play in fostering robust and fact-based public debates.

Combating Transnational Crime and Forensic Science

Law enforcement and expert representatives gathered for this forum that covered issues ranging from passport fraud, narcotics trafficking, to counterfeit money. Transnational cooperation between intelligence and various law enforcement agencies was stressed as a necessity to combat crime in order to promote a more stable region for facilitating regional development.

Enteroviruses Laboratory Diagnosis Workshop

Leonard Peruski, head of laboratory operations at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and Dr. John MacArthur, U.S. CDC country director in Thailand, addressed 27 health officials from 14 countries during this workshop on diagnosing enterovirus, one of the most common causes of hand, foot, and mouth disease.

Building a Bright Future for Women Entrepreneurs

The workshop explored ways to expanding opportunities for women entrepreneurs in the tech sector to promote inclusive growth and development. Participants also discussed common challenges faced by women in the tech sphere, and how the added diversity is a necessity when seeking to solve society’s problems.

Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief Workshop

Participants from six countries gathered to learn and brainstorm effective ways to enhance humanitarian assistance and disaster relief.

Mosquito-borne Viral Diseases Laboratory Workshop

Four-day workshop on lab techniques for detecting mosquito-borne viral diseases with the aim to assist South and Southeast Asian nations in establishing the capability to detect an differentiate dengue fever, chikungunya, and Zika within one work day.

Energy Efficiency (Jun. 16, 2016)

The workshop focused on the attainment of cost-effective ways to achieve economic goals in the energy efficiency area while reducing carbon emissions and improving air quality.

Laboratory Diagnosis for Zika (Apr. 13, 2016)

International training workshop on diagnosing Zika led by experts from the U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Taiwan Centers for Disease Control, and Japan’s National Institute of Infectious Diseases.

Women’s Empowerment (Mar. 11, 2016)

This conference brought together government and civil society leaders from the Asia-Pacific region for a workshop to promote greater economic and political empowerment for women.

Molecular Diagnosis of MERS-CoV (Aug. 12-14, 2015)

The first event held under the GCTF brought participants together to learn and discuss the best strategies for diagnosing and controlling Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus (MERS-CoV).