About the episode
Episode 2 of Osavul's Taiwan series follows July's webinar, "Taiwan as a Frontline of Foreign Information Manipulation and Interference". This time, Chiayo Kuo — founder and president of the Taiwan Digital Diplomacy Association (TDDA) — brings a civil-society and diplomacy lens: how FIMI has changed shape in Taiwan over time, and what the country's response looks like from the ground rather than the analyst desk. Since founding TDDA in 2018, Kuo has worked with foreign embassies, government ministries, and the private sector to turn policy into grassroots response to information manipulation and hybrid threats.
Key topics
- How FIMI has developed in Taiwan — the shift from early coordinated inauthentic behavior to today's more targeted, harder-to-trace tactics
- The narratives doing the work — which storylines actually move Taiwanese public opinion
- Taiwan's response — the institutional and civic tools built to counter manipulation
- Spotting Chinese-linked FIMI — the patterns that give it away
- Where it spreads — the main channels carrying these campaigns
- Building resilience — what makes Taiwan's information environment harder to manipulate over time
Meet Chiayo Kuo
Chiayo Kuo is the founder and president of the Taiwan Digital Diplomacy Association (TDDA), an independent Taiwanese NGO connecting civil society and the world through diplomacy, resilience, and civic action. Since founding TDDA in 2018, she has led its work helping Taiwan engage internationally through storytelling, media outreach, and practical resilience tools. TDDA works with foreign embassies, government ministries, and the private sector to connect official policy with grassroots action, and to help communities understand and respond to information manipulation, hybrid threats, and information warfare. Outside of TDDA, she serves on the Presidential Office's Whole-of-Society Defense Resilience Committee and holds advisory roles at the Ministry of Interior, Ministry of Digital Affairs, and TWNIC. She is also a board member at Radio Taiwan International.
Commended by President Lai Ching-te (2025) | Asia Gen.T Next Generation Leader (2023) | Ministry of Foreign Affairs Outstanding Contribution Award, youngest recipient (2020)
Watch the podcast
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