April 6th 2022

On April 6th, 2022, the Taiwan Center for Security Studies (TCSS) and the National Bureau of Asian Research (NBR) jointly organized a webinar to address the last report published by the NBR “China’s Digital to Ambitions: A Global Strategy to Supplant the Liberal Order”. 

Gathering distinguished experts from the US and Taiwan, the webinar’s main objectives were to address China’s competitive strategy in the digital field. In his opening remarks, Dr. Fu-Kuo Liu, Director of TCSS, highlighted the importance of observing the digital technology competition within the large context of the ongoing US-China rivalry.

The presenters further provided a comprehensive overview of China’s efforts to transform the world order through its digital instruments, infrastructures, and policies. While Emily de La Bruyère described the Chinese vision of the digital sphere as a place to control information and shape data movements, Dr. Samantha Hoffman emphasized the importance of physical infrastructures, such as data centers that support and make its ambition possible. Nigel Cory carried on to explain China’s approaches to enforcing its new vision of the virtual world domestically and internationally. 

Led by Taiwanese experts and scholars, several discussion questions were raised during the session. Dr. Yuh-Jong Hu, Dean of College of Information, NCCU stated that it is crucial to consider what Taiwan could contribute to further cooperation on this digital transformation. In addition, Dr. Hon-min Yau, Assistant Professor at NDU also asked how liberal countries like Japan, the US, and Taiwan should collectively respond to China’s digital ambitions and promote a free-liberal digital space. 

Concluded jointly by Mr. Doug Strub, Assistant Director of Center for Innovation, Trade, and Strategy, National Bureau of Asian Research, NBR, and TCSS Director Fu-Kuo Liu, both thanked the participants for joining these stimulating discussions and shared their expectations for the future collaborations between the Taiwan Center for Security Studies and the National Bureau of Asian Research.