Advertisement
Taiwan looks to Ukraine for how to get message to the world during conflict
- Satellite trial programme among plans to preserve communications if Beijing attacks
- Digital Minister Audrey Tang says the island’s playbook is ‘humour over rumour’
Reading Time:2 minutes
Why you can trust SCMP
Taiwan is looking at Ukraine’s ways of communicating its message to the outside world at a time of conflict, by making use of tools such as satellites and deploying humour, the digital minister said on Wednesday.
Beijing’s war games and blockade drills around Taiwan last month, following a visit to Taipei by US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, have heightened concerns on the island about the prospect of an attack by the People’s Liberation Army.
“We look at the experience of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February. We found that the whole world can know what is happening there in real time,” said Audrey Tang, head of Taiwan’s new digital affairs ministry.
Advertisement
Ukraine had effectively conveyed its message to the world, said Tang, adding that keeping up high-quality communication in real time was critical to its effort.
“It’s not only for our own people, but also for the people who care about us all over the world, so that we can enlist the assistance of international friends.”
Beijing views self-governed Taiwan as its own territory and has never renounced the use of force to bring it under mainland control. Taiwan’s government strongly rejects Beijing’s sovereignty claims.
Advertisement
Select Voice
Choose your listening speed
Get through articles 2x faster
1.25x
250 WPM
Slow
Average
Fast
1.25x