Taiwanese Public Affairs Association (FAPA) held the second wave of fundraising tour on July 8th in San Jose, Northern California at the Taiwan Center. Renowned lawyer and director of the “Plain Law Radio” community, Roy Liu, spoke on the topic of “Rediscovering Taiwan’s Democratic Defense Mechanisms in the Battlefields of Politics and Education.” He highlighted the threats from China to Taiwan, cognitive warfare, the democratization process in Taiwan, and media communication. He urged overseas Taiwanese not to be mere spectators but to utilize their influence to share Taiwan’s story with the international community.
Roy Liu, also a host of “Plain Law Radio” and “Roy’s Non-stop,” has been active in the fields of law, media, and education for a long time. He considers himself a “knowledge translator,” dedicated to discussing legal and public issues in ways that are easy for the general public to understand.
Throughout his speech, Roy Liu emphasized the idea that “We are not just audiences.” He pointed out that Taiwan faces challenges not only from external military and diplomatic pressures, but also from internal infiltration and the long-term impacts of cognitive warfare on society.
Using social media as an example, he illustrated how some accounts may coordinate to post content with similar wording, tags, or narratives, thus influencing users’ perceptions without them realizing the coordinated effort behind the scenes.
Roy Liu believes that Taiwan needs to establish an “will to resist” within its democratic society. While the system has been democratized, the extent to which people truly understand the difference between democracy and authoritarianism will directly impact societal resilience in the face of cognitive warfare.
He traced Taiwan’s journey towards democratization from the lifting of martial law, comprehensive parliamentary elections, to the direct election of the president, using the concept of “installment democracy” proposed by Japanese Taiwan politics researcher Masahisa Wakabayashi. He explained that Taiwan’s democratization was not achieved through a sudden regime change but rather under the gradual push of reforms during the Kuomintang (KMT) era, gradually moving towards democracy.
Roy Liu noted that Taiwan’s transition to democracy, characterized by a top-down approach, although it facilitated a relatively smooth democratization process, also led to unintended consequences. Unlike some countries that explicitly rejected old authoritarian systems through bottom-up democratic movements, Taiwan did not draw clear lines during the regime transition, collectively declaring “authoritarianism is wrong, hence it must be rejected.”
He pointed out that Taiwan seemed to have transitioned from authoritarianism to democracy almost unwittingly, with the system changing without society fully grasping how the past authoritarian system operated and the fundamental differences between democracy and authoritarianism. This also led to some individuals viewing the two as different systems or values to choose from rather than recognizing the systematic control of judiciary, speech, and political rights within an authoritarian regime.
Roy Liu highlighted the importance of countering cognitive warfare by emphasizing that safeguarding democracy should not be left solely to politicians. He underscored that where influence lies, there lies the battleground. With contemporary political communication encompassing platforms like Podcasts, YouTube, TikTok, and various short-video platforms, he explained that those supporting democracy must not cede these spaces to authoritarian narratives.
He stated that professional engagement with political and public issues does not necessarily require a rigid presentation of facts. Entertainment, culture, art, or lifestyle content could also serve as bridges between public issues and the general population.
He stressed the importance of understanding how different audiences prefer to receive information before integrating democratic, historical, and public issues into their familiar contexts.
Roy Liu concluded by emphasizing that everyone could be a transmitter of Taiwan’s history and memories, not solely the individuals directly involved or their descendants. He noted that the world’s perception of Taiwan has evolved over the years, offering an opportunity to communicate Taiwan’s story to the international community. He emphasized that Taiwan’s story and perspective should not be monopolized by the Chinese Communist Party’s narratives.
FAPA Executive Director Anny Hsiao stated that the annual fundraising tour aims to introduce FAPA’s long-term promotion of democracy, freedom, and human rights by inviting speakers familiar with constitutional law, legal communication, and Taiwan’s political issues. The tour hopes to engage more young people in advocating for Taiwanese public affairs.
One of the event organizers, Ken from FAPA’s Northern California chapter, mentioned that nearly 80 people attended the event, with only around thirteen or fourteen being FAPA members, the rest being non-members, many of whom were introduced to FAPA for the first time.
Vivian Yang, a finance professional at a tech company, participated in a silent auction for a “Plain Law” keychain with a bid of 200 dollars. She mentioned that after attending a FAPA event for the first time last year due to a talk by Miao Poya, she realized that besides marches, supporting Taiwan’s advocacy through donations was also possible. This year, she returned for Roy Liu’s talk. She believed that inviting renowned podcasters and public figures to speak could help introduce FAPA to more young people.
Prom, a musician who regularly listens to “Plain Law Radio” hosted by Roy Liu, endorsed his philosophy. Learning about Roy Liu’s rare visit to the U.S. for a speech, she came to show her support. She pointed out that some young people grew up in democratic societies without truly understanding the horrors of losing freedom and democracy, emphasizing the need to continue sharing the hard-won history of Taiwan’s democracy.
Prom agreed with Roy Liu that through speeches and media, more people could rediscover the values of freedom and democracy.