Alejandro Mayoral Baños is the Executive Director of Access Now, an international NGO focusing on digital human rights.

Access Now is the organizer of RightsCon - world’s largest digital human rights summit. The 2025 edition is set to take place in Taipei from February 24 to 27, 2025, where more than 550 sessions are expected to be staged. 

Baños talks to Ghost Island Media about digital authoritarianism, data governance, and artificial intelligence. 

Prior to his role at Access Now, Baños has been a life-long leader in advocacy and research on  indigenous rights and digital development. He gives advice to CSO on navigating new challenges, finding new financial sustainability, and the importance of networking.

This interview was conducted on January 22, 2025. Impact of the U.S. President Trump’s executive orders on the freezing of foreign assistance was not discussed. 

Baños’s grew up in Mexico as a member of the Mixtec indigenous people and is now based in Canada. In 2015 he founded the Indigenous Friends Association to bridge the gap between indigenous communities and digital technologies. He has been a Ashoka Fellow for his work as a social entrepreneur. In 2020 he was named a Toronto Community Champion by CBC. 

On-line sessions for RightsCon are available for those who cannot come to Taiwan. Register: https://www.rightscon.org/registration/

Resources Baños mentioned in the interview:

Indigenous Data Sovereignty: CARE Principles for Indigenous Data Governance: https://www.gida-global.org/care#:~:text=CARE%20Principles%20for%20Indigenous%20Data%20Governance,-The%20current%20movement&text=Existing%20principles%20within%20the%20open,power%20differentials%20and%20historical%20contexts.

Approaches to create AI Models for the Indigenous -  Indigenous Protocol and Artificial Intelligence Working Group: https://www.indigenous-ai.net/

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Ben Graham Jones is an election observer. In his new report “Taiwan POWER” on the 2024 presidential and legislative elections in Taiwan, Jones sets up Taiwan as a model for resilience against foreign information manipulation and interference (FIMI).

Jones identifies a set of strengths that's the core of Taiwan’s resilience against FIMI: Purpose-driven, Organic, Whole-society, Evolving, Remit-bound. Jones stresses it’s the bottom-up approach of Taiwan’s civic society that’s made it particularly resilient. 

“What’s interesting about Taiwan is we often consider Taiwan to be patient zero of Chinese information operations, Beijing’s information operations… If we are to move from not just defining the problem, but also defining the solution, I think Taiwan is a place that provides a good deal of inspiration to the wider world.”

Jones points to Chinese PRC influence of political elites, often through tourism, and why countries need to understand the work of the United Front.

We also talk about AI, deep fake, media literacy, and where he stands on the responsibility of social media platforms against false information. 

The Taiwan 2024 elections took place on January 13, 2024. While the ruling DPP (Democratic Progressive Party) won an unprecedented third consecutive term in office, it lost the majority in parliament. Elections take place in Taiwan every two years. They alternate between national and local elections. The next local elections for mayors, city counselors, and village chiefs should be in November 2026.

Taiwan POWER by Ben Graham Jones, commissioned by DoubleThink Lab, was released in August 2024: https://medium.com/doublethinklab/taiwan-power-a-model-for-resilience-to-foreign-information-manipulation-interference-70ea81f859b7

Previous episodes from Ghost Island Media on disinformation:

“Disinformation: Building Digital Resilience” on Dispatch From Taiwan - with voices from Taiwan FactCheck Center, DoubleThink Lab, and Citizen Lab: https://www.usip.org/publications/2024/01/disinformation-building-digital-resilience

“Influence Operations on PTT” with Oddis J.F. Tsai and J.M. Hung (INDSR): https://ghostisland.media/en/shows/taiwan-take/indsr-ptt-influence-operation

“Disinformation” with Puma Shen (Doublethink Lab): https://ghostisland.media/en/shows/taiwan-take/disinformation-doublethink-lab

“China Information Warfare” with Jeremy Hung (INDSR): https://ghostisland.media/en/shows/taiwan-take/indsr-china-information-war

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“Decathlon: The CK Yang & Rafer Johnson Story” 《奧運傳奇：楊傳廣與強生》is a tribute to one of the greatest Taiwanese Olympians - C.K. Yang - and his American rival and long-time friend, Rafer Johnson. 

At the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome, C.K. Yang (Yang Chuan-kwang 楊傳廣) won silver and became the first person with a Chinese surname to win an Olympic medal. Rafer Johnson carried the flag for the U.S.A national team and was the first black American to do so. 

The 45-minute film - 18 years in making - was released in August 2024 during the Paris Olympics. Directed by Frank W Chen. Written by Mike Chinoy and John Krich. Interview footage with C.K. Yang, Tom Brokaw, Chi Cheng, Michael Eaves, and more.

Mike Chinoy is an American journalist who spent 24 years as a foreign correspondent for CNN. He was CNN’s first bureau chief in Beijing, and has won the Emmy, the Dupond, and the Peabody Awards for his coverage of the 1989 Tiananmen Square Massacre. He is the author of five books. He currently lives in Taipei.

Frank W. Chen is a Taiwanese-Canadian documentary filmmaker. His previous film, “Late Life” (2018) on the Taiwanese MLB pitcher Wang Chien-Ming (New York Yankees, 2005-2007) was nominated for a Golden Horse Award and won audience awards in Los Angeles and Vancouver.

Stream the film here on TaiwanPlus Docs: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=usbdC5v3LX8

If you’d like to organize a screening in your city, please contact [email protected]

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EPISODE CREDIT

Host / Emily Y. Wu @emilyywu
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Taiwanese writer Chi Ta-wei (紀大偉)'s 1996 novel “The Membranes” has seen global success in recent years, with translations in French, English, Japanese, Korean, Spanish, Italian, Finnish, Spanish, Danish, and forthcoming editions in Portuguese, Greek, and Vietnamese.

“The Membranes” is a dystopian fiction set in the 22nd century. Climate change has devastated Earth, and humans now live at the bottom of the sea. The protagonist is a dermatologist named Momo who can read her clients’ memories through their skins.

Chi Ta-wei is an important voice in Taiwanese queer literature. 

We talk about the year 1994 - the era of Pulp Fiction, Nine Inch Nails, and Nirvana. In Taipei, a bookstore called FemBooks (女書店) was opened. Artists and students wanting international cinema flocked to the Golden Horse Film Festival. 

One of Ta-wei’s contemporaries is the late author Qiu Miaojin (邱妙津). Ta-wei talks about why he and Qiu shared a fondness for Europe. We also talk about the Australian writer and translator Ari Heinrich who worked on English translations for both Chi Ta-wei and Qiu Miaojin.

Chi Ta-Wei also talks about his appreciation for translators, and advice for writers, editors, and publishers who are working on bringing Taiwanese books to the world. 

For French listeners, here’s our Interview with theater director Cédric Delorme-Bouchard on the stage adaptation that premiered in Montreal 2024: https://ghostisland.media/en/shows/france-taiwan/membrane-cedric-delorme-bouchard

More on Chi Ta-wei: www.taweichi.com/

Links to the novel “The Membranes”:

(In English) “The Membranes” translated by Ari Heinrich (University of Columbia Press, 2021) - https://cup.columbia.edu/book/the-membranes/9780231195713

(En français) “Membrane” traduit par Gwennaël Gaffric (L'Asiathèque. 2020) 
https://www.asiatheque.com/fr/livre/membrane

《膜》繁體中文版 (聯經出版, 1996) https://www.linkingbooks.com.tw/LNB/book/Book.aspx?ID=184182&vs=pc

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EPISODE CREDIT

Host / Emily Y. Wu @emilyywu
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Researcher / Skylar Nguyen
A Ghost Island Media production / @ghostislandme

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This was the first Academy Awards nomination for a documentary from Taiwan. “Island in Between”《金門》was a nominee for Best Documentary Short at the 2024 Academy Awards.

In this 19-minute documentary, we see Kinmen (Quemoy) through the lens of filmmaker S. Leo Chiang (江松長) and the diverse cast of characters he meets there. Kinmen - made of a set of islands - is governed by Taiwan but sits just 2 miles across from China. Here Chiang portrays an “uneasy peace on the frontline between Taiwan and China.”

We talk about Kinmen, the making of the film, the path to the Oscars, and Chiang’s personal journey from being a parachute kid to the U.S., and his evolving identity as a Chinese, Taiwanese, American, and everything in between. 

Chiang is co-founder of the Asian American Documentary Network (A-Doc). In 2009, Chiang was nominated for an Emmy for the documentary “A Village Called Versailles.”

“Island in Between” is produced by CNEX, and distributed by the New York Times Op-Docs. Producer, Jean Tsien. Watch: https://www.nytimes.com/video/opinion/100000009146242/island-in-between.html

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Alex Khomenko is the organizer of Taiwan Stands with Ukraine 台灣烏克蘭陣線. We talk about conducting citizen diplomacy at a time of war, Taiwan’s humanitarian aid to Ukraine and public donations that amounted to the sending of power generators and ambulances, Taiwan and Ukraine relations, and the internal politics the Ukrainian government may be facing at home. 

Ukraine has no representatives based in Taiwan. When the war broke out on February 24, 2022, there were around 250 Ukrainians living in Taiwan. Many have had to do the difficult job of citizen diplomacy at a time of war.

They have formed groups to rally support from the Taiwanese public, the Taiwanese government, and foreign offices based in Taiwan. They have held fundraiser events, cultural days, demonstrations near the Moscow office, exhibitions at the National Human Rights Museum, and the two-year anniversary march.

They are the best example of citizen diplomacy, but at the worst of times. 

Ukrainian Food day in Taipei (More info)
1-7pm on Sunday, March 10
Location: Bar FEST 台北市汀州路三段149號 - (Google Map)

For our previous interviews on Ukraine -
Olek Shyn on Game Changers with Emily Y. Wu - Watch Video
Dmytro Burtsev on Five Star Nation (Mandarin) - Listen

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Emily Y. Wu | Twitter @emilyywu

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Reinhard Bütikofer is a familiar name in Europe and Taiwan relations. He has been a Member of European Parliament since 2009, where he is a member of the Foreign Affairs Committee, chairperson of the Delegation for Relations with China, and an alternate member of the Committee on International Trade. Reinhard also co-chairs IPAC, the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China. 

(This conversation was recorded prior to the 2024 January 13 election in Taiwan.)

We discuss the history of Europe-Taiwan relations, how 2016 and 2019 paved the way for an increased level of engagement with Taiwan, and how Bütikofer stays hopeful (“pessimism of the intellect, and optimism of the will.”)

Plus, a quote of hope from Hong Kong pro-democracy politician, Martin Lee.

Bütikofer is the organizer of the annual Berlin Taiwan Conference. See archive video here: 

2022 - “Opportunities and Challenges in Times of Geopolitical Change” (Dec 5, 6)
Day 1 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OeDzUT7EpB0
Day 2 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aTrFoRWu8ow

2023 - “Taiwan before the Presidential Elections” (Nov 13,14)
Day 1 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fG4s_6Q_zoc
Day 2 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cTKynM7SURs

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EPISODE CREDIT
Host / Emily Y. Wu @emilyywu
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This 5-episode limited series delves into policy debates within Taiwan that could have implications for the region and beyond. Each episode features Taiwanese local experts and voices weighing in on social, economic and defense issues as they discusses how Taiwanese society is responding to these challenges.

From Ghost Island Media in Taipei and U.S. Institute of Peace in Washington, D.C, this is "Dispatch from Taiwan." 

Subscribe -
Apple Podcasts: https://gimpod.me/usip-taiwan-apple
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Episode 1: Defense — Rising Awareness and Preparation

Taiwan elects a new president on January 13, 2024. Peace across the Taiwan Strait is on people’s minds, but where the candidates and their political parties differ is how to maintain it. All three presidential candidates have indicated they would continue Taiwan’s current foreign policies, though they have different views of what shape relations with China and with the United States should take, as well as different priorities for Taiwan’s defense preparedness.

As China continues its military aggression in the region, many in Taiwan are thinking of how best to defend their home. In 2024, Taiwan will see a record-high national defense budget of 19.4 billion USD. Military conscription also was extended to one year.

In his New Year’s speech, Chinese leader Xi Jinping renewed the Chinese Communist Party’s threats to take over Taiwan, which China considers its own but has never ruled.

This episode includes expert views from Ying-Yu LIN from Tamkang University and CHIEH Chung from the National Policy Foundation, as well as the civilian voices of Robin HSU from the TaiwanADIZ club and Tsung-lin TSAI.

Ghost Island Media: https://dispatchfromtaiwan.com/
USIP: https://www.usip.org/dispatch-taiwan

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Merry Christmas and happy holidays!

Prior to moving to Taiwan, Louis Heng had spent time in Singapore, Germany, Malta, and Scotland. Louis’ first time in Taiwan was with the Singaporian military. He then worked briefly as an airline pilot before entering a career in life insurance. In this episode, Louis and Emily talk about relocation with your family, managing and navigating multi-cultural teams, and Germany’s famous Oktoberfest.

This episode is a sponsored collaboration with the Taiwan Gold Card Office.

Interested in moving to Taiwan? Find out more about this open work-permit and residency visa at https://goldcard.nat.gov.tw

EPISODE CREDIT
Host / Emily Y. Wu @emilyywu
Project Manager / Serena Pai
Editing / Gerald Williams

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As global attention on Taiwan intensifies, so does the significance of the work undertaken by domestic journalists. Today we speak with Taipei-based journalists as Taiwan gears up for its presidential and legislative election on January 13th, 2024.

This is a collaboration with the NüVoices Podcast.  Many thanks to the team at NüVoices partnering with us for this collaborative episode.  Today's guests are: 

Silva Shih -  Head of data journalism at CommonWealth Magazine (天下雜誌) in Taiwan, where she’s also a managing editor. Silva had previously spent five years at the Financial Times Chinese in Beijing where she oversaw data-driven stories, graphics and cross-strait relations coverage.

Wen-Yee Lee - A tech reporter with Business Weekly Magazine (商業周刊) in Taiwan, covering Taiwan’s semiconductor supply chain. She has been covering the semiconductor industry since 2018. 

Afore Hsieh -  A local fixer for the Asia bureau of the French-language network of CBC, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. Prior to being a news assistant, Hsieh was a digital project manager at United Daily News in Taiwan. 

Taiwan’s upcoming election has become one of the most closely monitored events in decades, drawing the attention of foreign press members, international scholars, and think-tanks. This heightened interest is reflected not only in the increased number of books published about Taiwan, spanning countries such as Denmark, Germany, and the U.S., but also in the creation of numerous high-quality newsletters dedicated to Taiwan this year. 

Links to stories mentioned in the discussion:

“The Direst Straits : Why the Chinese Military Has Increased Activity Near Taiwan” by Silva Shih (Commonwealth Magazine, 2021)

“Uncovering the US-China Tech War: The Chip Rush in 21st Century America” by Wen-Yee Lee (Business Weekly, 2022)

“Un musée pour combattre le tabou des menstruations à Taïwan” by Philippe Leblanc with Afore Hsieh (CBC/Radio-Canada, 2022)

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Host - Emily Y. Wu @emilyywu
Research - Khera Ganongo
Editing, Music - NüVoices

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