TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Democracy advocates and civil society leaders gathered in Taipei on Monday for the East Asia Democracy Forum, warning that polarization and AI-driven disinformation are threatening democracies across Asia.
This year’s forum focused on the theme “Recentering Democracy: Countering Polarization through Consensus Building.” Speakers described polarization as a defining challenge facing democracies in Asia, driven by social divisions, authoritarian influence, economic inequality, and increasingly sophisticated digital manipulation.
Founded in Taipei in 2014, the EADF has become one of Asia’s leading platforms for civil society dialogue on democracy and human rights. Organized by the Taiwan Foundation for Democracy, the forum brings together activists, researchers, and NGOs to discuss strategies for strengthening democratic institutions across the region.
Organizers said the geopolitical climate this year has been characterized by intensifying global instability, including Russia’s continued aggression against Ukraine, the war in Gaza, rising tensions in the Taiwan Strait, and growing concerns over AI-generated disinformation.
Opening remarks
TFD President Liao Da-chi (廖達琪) and EADF Steering Committee Chair Ichihara Maiko welcomed delegates during the opening ceremony, with TFD Chair and Legislative Speaker Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜) greeting the audience through a pre-recorded video.
Liao said democracies across Asia were confronting accelerating social polarization fueled by geopolitical tensions and algorithm-driven information systems. “Polarization is no longer just a domestic political issue,” Liao said. “It is increasingly tied to global conflicts, technological change, and challenges to democratic governance.”
She said the forum aimed not only to analyze polarization but also to explore ways democratic societies could rebuild trust and restore dialogue across political divides. The EADF network was created to strengthen democratic solidarity in Asia and adopted a formal charter in 2018 to broaden regional civil society participation.
Ichihara, a professor at Hitotsubashi University, said democracies were entering one of the most difficult periods in recent history. “The question is no longer whether polarization exists,” she said. “The question is how democracies can prevent polarization from destroying social cohesion.”
The forum’s first panel, “Polarization and Its Regional Fallout,” examined the roots of political division in Asian societies and its impact on democratic governance.
Divisions over defense spending
National Chengchi University Election Study Center research fellow Tsai Chia-hung (蔡佳泓) presented survey research examining Taiwanese attitudes toward defense spending, arguing that Taiwan’s domestic political divisions are more nuanced than commonly portrayed.
Tsai said Taiwan’s position at the center of intensifying US-China strategic competition has made defense policy especially sensitive politically.
Using polling data collected between Nov. 25 and Nov. 30 following President Lai Ching-te’s (賴清德) proposal to increase military spending, Tsai found public opinion was split mainly between maintaining or increasing the defense budget, while support for cuts remained very low.
According to the survey, 44.1% of respondents supported increasing defense spending, while 44.9% favored maintaining current levels. Only around 11% supported reductions. Tsai said the findings showed Taiwanese society was divided mainly over the pace and scale of military spending increases rather than over the need for defense preparedness itself.
“There is disagreement over how much Taiwan should spend,” Tsai said, “but there is broad consensus that Taiwan cannot weaken its defense capabilities.”
The research also revealed sharp partisan differences. Supporters of the Democratic Progressive Party largely favored increasing defense spending, while supporters of the Kuomintang preferred maintaining current levels. Taiwan People’s Party supporters generally fell between the two camps.
Regional polarization
James Gomez, regional director of Asia Centre, expanded the discussion beyond Taiwan, arguing that polarization has become deeply embedded across Asian societies.
Asia Centre operates research offices in Thailand, Cambodia, and Malaysia and works extensively on democracy and civil society issues across the region.
Gomez said democratization often creates new space for polarizing views and identity politics, particularly when amplified by social media and AI-driven information systems. “Democracy allows differences to surface,” Gomez said. “The challenge is whether societies can manage those differences peacefully.”
He identified ethnicity and religion as major drivers of political division in Asia, pointing to anti-mosque protests in Japan, anti-Rohingya nationalism in Myanmar, and Hindu-Muslim tensions in India. Gender and LGBTQ issues have also become flashpoints in many societies, particularly in countries with strong religious and traditional social structures, he said.
Migration and refugee issues have similarly intensified political tensions throughout the region. Gomez referenced recent public opposition in Taiwan to expanded migrant labor recruitment from India, saying immigration debates frequently become catalysts for political mobilization.
He also pointed to economic inequality as a major factor behind rising instability, particularly among younger generations facing limited economic opportunities and declining financial security.
Gomez warned that polarization is increasingly exploited by political elites and amplified through digital platforms that reward outrage and division. “Social media algorithms do not reward compromise,” he said. “They reward emotional reaction.”
Despite those concerns, Gomez argued democracy still offers the best framework for managing conflict peacefully through pluralism, transparency, accountability, and nonviolent political participation.
Broader democratic crisis
Asia Democracy Network Secretary-General Ichal Supriadi said polarization had intensified sharply over the past five years due to war, social media, nationalism, and geopolitical rivalry. Drawing from his work with regional civil society organizations, Supriadi said democratic backsliding was increasingly visible across Asia.
The Asia Democracy Network includes organizations from 13 countries working on human rights, democratic governance, indigenous rights, and minority protections. Supriadi said the wars in Ukraine and Gaza had deepened ideological divisions globally, while social media accelerated emotionally driven political discourse.
He also pointed to growing concerns over Chinese influence operations in Southeast Asia, saying many regional civil society groups increasingly view the issue as an Asian concern rather than solely a Western narrative. “One of the biggest threats to democracy today is disinformation amplified through AI and digital platforms,” Supriadi said.
According to Supriadi, many civil society organizations across Asia are operating under shrinking political space, declining funding, and growing government pressure. He argued that elections in parts of Southeast and South Asia are increasingly shaped by money, political influence, and narrative control rather than policy debates or democratic values.
Supriadi also warned of growing militarization across the region, including expanding defense budgets and increasing military involvement in civilian governance. Environmental issues, indigenous rights, and intergenerational tensions were also contributing to social fragmentation, he said.
Throughout the forum, speakers emphasized that polarization itself is not new but that technological advances have dramatically increased the speed and scale at which divisions spread.
Participants identified AI-generated content, algorithmic targeting, disinformation campaigns, and emotionally driven online engagement as major accelerants of distrust and political fragmentation. At the same time, speakers warned authoritarian governments increasingly use the language of “stability” and “harmony” to justify tighter controls on information and dissent.
Forum participants argued the challenge facing democracies is not eliminating disagreement but building institutions capable of managing differences without descending into paralysis or violence. As geopolitical uncertainty grows across Asia, Taiwan’s role as host of the EADF has taken on increasing symbolic significance.
For many participants, Taiwan represents both a frontline democracy confronting authoritarian pressure and a testing ground for how open societies can respond to disinformation, polarization, and foreign influence operations. Closing the session, Liao said the forum aimed to help democracies across Asia rebuild dialogue, trust, and civic cooperation while preserving democratic freedoms.
“We may come from different countries and political systems,” Liao said, “but the defense of democracy requires cooperation across borders.”
