Reporters Without Borders (RSF) Director General Thibaut Bruttin met with President Lai Ching-te (賴清德) on Wednesday to discuss Taiwan’s democratic defense against disinformation. President Lai said that he hopes Taiwan can not only be the center of press freedom in Asia but also play a more active role in the international community safeguarding democracy.
In his speech, Lai noted that since RSF established its Asia-Pacific office in Taiwan 7 years ago, Taiwan's efforts have been recognized by the international community. This year, in the RSF’s World Press Freedom Index, Taiwan ranked first in Asia and 27th in the world which, as Bruttin points out, demonstrates its efforts to strengthen civil society and encourage public policies that comply with international principles.
The President elaborated that Taiwan stands at the forefront of democratic defense and is determined to protect the value of democracy and freedom with all its strength. He mentioned that Taiwan is the country most affected by overseas disinformation in the world, and therefore the government has been committed to establishing a more complete information security protection system. Non-governmental Taiwanese organizations have also actively developed countermeasures against disinformation.
Bruttin also proposed public policy changes to social media platforms, further regulations to strengthen news accuracy and promote media ethics, and additional exposing of external propaganda and interference in the media. He said that the people of Taiwan have shown great courage in promoting democracy, which gives him confidence in cooperation with Taiwan for the next seven years.
Lai emphasized that in the face of the proliferation of false information and the expansion of authoritarianism, Taiwan needs the world, and the world also needs Taiwan. He said he hopes to strengthen exchanges and cooperation with other countries around the world, to jointly protect a democratic and free way of life.