Center for Asia-Pacific Resilience and Innovation (CAPRI) chair and former Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull says democracies must support each other while facing both external and internal threats. Turnbull spoke at a CAPRI event called “Asia-Pacific: A Resilient Phoenix Rising from the Pandemic” on Monday.
Turnbull says the lesson from the Russo-Ukrainian War is that democracies must support one another and ensure that Russia fails in its attempt to annex Ukraine. Besides authoritarianism, the former prime minister says he believes the greatest threat to democracy is disinformation, which should not be taken lightly.
Turnbull says Taiwan is a prime example of foreign actors playing a role in spreading disinformation, which causes division and undermines trust in the government and institutions. Turnbull says the public should stand up for the truth and discredit lies in order to build trust and make democracies resilient.
Premier Chen Chien-jen (陳建仁) was also present at the CAPRI event and talked about Taiwan’s experience handling disinformation during the pandemic.