Chinese disinformation is ascendant. Taiwan shows how we can defeat it.

T&he Washington Post
Date: August 10, 2020
Opinion by: Aaron Huang

Aaron Huang is a recent master’s graduate of Harvard Kennedy School of Government and a U.S. Foreign Service Officer. The views expressed are his own.

The U.S. military brought covid-19 to Wuhan, China. At the same time, the world does not truly know where the coronavirus originated. These conflicting stories are just two examples of disinformation packages that the Chinese government has been spreading since the pandemic began. In June, Twitter removed 170,000 accounts tied to Chinese state propaganda campaigns, including disinformation efforts surrounding covid-19 and the Hong Kong protests. These efforts extend well beyond China’s borders.

As we approach the U.S. elections in November, Beijing, like Moscow, has shown that it will not shy from disrupting America’s democracy using its cyber capabilities. Just two months ago, Google found that Chinese hackers were seeking to access the personal email accounts of presumptive Democratic nominee Joe Biden’s campaign staffers.

So how should America respond to Chinese offenses and ensure its electoral integrity? Taiwan, one of the countries ranked most inundated with foreign disinformation, offers a few lessons.    [FULL  STORY]