Tag Archives: Taiwan

Journalism, People, Psychology, Technology, Uncategorized

Reimagining democracy

MANY of us entered this so-called super-election year with a sense of foreboding. So far, not much has happened to allay those fears. Russia’s war on Ukraine is exacerbating a perception that democracy is threatened in Europe and beyond. In the US, Donald Trump, a presidential candidate with self-professed autocratic tendencies, has faced two assassination attempts. And more broadly, people seem to be losing faith in politics. “Most people from a diverse array of countries around the world lack confidence in the performance of their political institutions,” says a 2024 report by the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance…

Kyle Ellingson for New Scientist

This article first appeared in New Scientist on 2 October 2024. To continue reading, click here (paywall).

Journalism, People, Psychology, Technology

Audrey Tang – Taiwan’s first digital minister on rebuilding democracy

IN 2014, the approval rating of Taiwan’s government was less than 10 per cent. Popular dissatisfaction culminated in the Sunflower Movement, with students occupying legislative buildings to protest a proposed trade deal with China. Three weeks later, their demands were met. A decade on, this is seen as a turning point in Taiwanese democracy…

Paul Ryding for New Scientist

This article first appeared in New Scientist on 1 July 2024. To continue reading, click here (paywall).

Journalism, Medicine

On the surveillance society

HOW is it that we live in a world that is awash with our personal information, where most of us would be shocked if we knew exactly how much we give away about ourselves each day – and yet, when a crisis came along in which that information could have made all the difference, it didn’t…?

This article first appeared in The Guardian on 21 May 2021. To continue reading, click here.