On July 10, the Taiwan Foreign Correspondents’ Club will organize a panel discussion about the number of diplomatic challenges and “gray zone” warfare facing Taiwan in recent months.
The session will be moderated by Brian Hioe, founding editor of online magazine New Bloom and TFCC board director.
EVENT DETAILS
Date: July 10, Friday
Time: doors will open at 4pm and the discussion will start at 4.30pm
Venue: (moved online due to typhoon warning)
Rules: On the record; in English; no livestreaming
Entry: free for TFCC members
ABOUT THE SPEAKERS
Liu I-Chen is a Programme Officer at ARTICLE 19 with a background in policy and sociology. He focuses on the intersection of information, integrity, hybrid, threats, and human rights. His research and advocacy examine authoritarian influence in the digital landscape. ARTICLE 19 is an international organisation that propels the freedom of expression movement, locally and globally, to ensure all people realise the power of their voices. Its name was inspired by Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
Matej Šimalčík is the Executive Director of the Central European Institute of Asian Studies, a think tank that focuses on foreign and security policy issues related to East Asia. Matej’s research looks at China’s economic and political presence and influence in Central Europe, elite relations, corrosive capital, and the role of European legal instruments in mitigating risks posed by China. In 2022, he founded the China-Europe Academic Engagement Tracker project, which aims to bring transparency to research collaborations with Chinese entities. He has a background in Law (Masaryk University, 2015) and International Relations (University of Groningen, 2016).
Athena Tong is a Visiting Researcher at the University of Tokyo, Programme Lead and Research Associate at the China Strategic Risks Institute, Nonresident Vasey Fellow at Pacific Forum, and an Indo-Pacific Young Leader at the Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada. Athena’s research focuses on China’s political warfare, maritime coercion, as well as economic statecraft and critical infrastructure resilience in East Asia, with particular attention to Taiwan, Japan, the Philippines, and the wider Indo-Pacific. Her work examines how China uses gray-zone tactics, diplomatic pressure, information manipulation, and economic coercion to reshape the strategic environment facing democratic states. Athena has a background in politics and human rights advocacy, having left Hong Kong in 2022.