Human Rights and Technology: Oslo Freedom Forum in Taiwan

Looking fresh and at ease despite the long journey from San Francisco into Taipei, Alex Gladstein is in town to champion for the Oslo Freedom Forum, an international conference series focused on promoting and protecting human rights around the world.

Established by the nonpartisan not-for-profit the Human Rights Foundation (HRF) in 2009, the flagship event is held annually in Oslo. Regional and satellite events, however, are organized all over the globe. This past Saturday, at Taipei’s Shangri-la Far Eastern Plaza Hotel, Taiwan will kick off the third satellite event this year – the very first Oslo Freedom Forum in Asia since its inauguration almost ten years ago.

Alex, as Chief Strategy Officer of HRF, believes that Taiwan is in the position to lead the world in non-authoritarian technology, or more aptly named, freedom technology, in which civil liberties are promoted and individuals—not governments—are empowered.

The event brings together activists and leaders from all backgrounds. Speakers include Mu Sochua, Cambodian politician and human rights advocate in exile; Megha Rajagopalan, Buzzfeed New’s previous China Bureau Chief who exposed the world to the level of Chinese surveillance on the Uyghur people; and Vietnam’s pop star-cum-political activist, Mai Khoi. The event also include in-depth panel seminars of selected prominent topics, such as the use of pop culture to influence change in North Korea.

You can watch the entire conference here:

Human rights and technology intersect

Alex’s enthusiasm for having this wide representation of freedom advocates in Taiwan is obvious. As to why the HRF chose Taiwan as the first Asian country to host the Forum, Alex says it’s because “there just aren’t that many fully fledged democracies” in Asia.

“Taiwan is really fabulous for several reasons. It has a really amazing history, its journey to democracy is very inspiring for other activists. They’ll get inspired because this was a people power movement that essentially peacefully transformed a dictatorship into a democracy. That’s cool.

“Number two is that Taiwan is a Chinese democracy. The largest dictatorship in the world is China, and they always tell the world and their people that democracy is not really suitable for the Chinese people. In that sense, Taiwan is like a huge thorn in Xi Jinping’s eyes because it proves that Chinese people can have democracy. And number three, it’s a technology leader.”

Taiwan’s already huge semiconductor industry can be a much bigger geopolitical asset and provide more for free societies than first thought. Much of the world’s computing power relies on chips made by Chinese companies, which puts them at risk of being used by bad actors for nefarious purposes (such as this report of backdoor surveillance by Bloomberg), but the silicon wafers to fabricate these chips are already being made here in Taiwan. Imagine the advantage Taiwan’s IT industry will have over China’s in an age of increased cybersecurity concerns.

“What if we just make this stuff in Taiwan? It provides a choice for chip manufacturers—as opposed to making it in China, and being enslaved to the Chinese, a surveillance state. You can make it in Taiwan, as free countries can have their equipment produced here…So the semiconductor industry may sound like it has nothing to do with human rights, but it’s absolutely essential for the future of human rights.”

This is not some far-fetched claim. While some technology such as AI, machine-learning of data, can very well be used by authoritarian governments to manipulate its citizens as seen in Cambodia, China and Russia, Taiwan has the potential to showcase technology used in the opposite direction. Blockchain, message encryption, and zero-knowledge proof (proof of digital data from one party to another without divulging any part of the data including identifying information) are absolutely vital for enabling people within policed regimes to communicate with the rest of the world. But those who care about privacy should also pay attention. Alex describes it as freedom and technology combined.

“It’d be like the idea of…you can have location data about yourself on your phone, and you can give that to the cloud, and sell it into a marketplace. without disclosing everything about you, you would get to choose…That’s allowing people to actually own their own data.”

Alex Gladstein on stage at the Oslo Freedom Forum in Taipei (photo by Guang-hui Chuan)

Taiwan can potentially be a prime example in using cutting edge technology that Asia and the world need. People are rightly anxious about the abuse of their data, and Taiwan could expand in blockchain and cryptocurrency infrastructure to counteract this.

“Taiwan (can) decide to become a leader in Bitcoin infrastructure that gives them a comparative advantage against China. China is going to ban Bitcoin or already has banned Bitcoin. So that’s a huge advantage for Taiwan.”

Alex is confident that it’s the logical decision for Taiwan to make. Bitcoin and cryptography have their roots in data privacy, individual freedom, and the decentralization of government, all of which aligns with Taiwan’s values. And Taiwan could certainly take advantage of its unique position as an advanced and democratic nation in the East.

“It’s a very primitive technology that’s going to get a lot more user adoption around the world and they can get in early and be the leader. That’s not even human rights, it’s a smart thing to do from a geopolitical perspective; but it makes sense, also, from a human rights perspective because these technologies were sort of the first of many ways of being able to help empower individuals. Their decentralizing technologies. They take power away from the authorities.”

His enthusiasm is infectious. It is difficult not to get excited by the endless benefits of freedom technology, but also at the prospect that Taiwan already has the advantage to change the status quo, something it’s been told it must be content with. Alex points out that “there’s already quite a few companies in Taiwan…working in cryptography, cryptocurrency, blockchain, etc. You know, that are thinking about how to empower users.” Further backed by prominent figures such as Taiwan national legislator Jason Hsu and Bitfury’s Bill Tai, it is an exciting time for Taiwan’s tech industry.

Indeed, the world’s first major blockchain-powered smartphone is made by HTC, the mobile phone and VR tech brand from Taiwan. The Exodus 1 allows users to disconnect crypto assets from the internet while also supporting decentralized apps.

Taiwan as inspiration

As for the HRF’s future plans in Taiwan? Ideally, a branch office in Taipei, and the Oslo Freedom Forum to run annually here for the next three years in the least.

“The real goal is to build a community here; people who want to support civil liberties in Taiwan and abroad…We want to make a positive difference with a good narrative about how technology and human rights can make the world better. We want them to join and they can hopefully start financially supporting these activists.

“We want to bring in people who aren’t professional human rights activists. We want to bring in the tech people, the pop culture people, students and doctors and engineers. They are all going to get involved.”

According to Alex, and to many of the esteemed speakers at Taipei’s Oslo Freedom Forum, Taiwan as a strong, free nation in Asia is not to be underestimated. It has a wealth of experience and resources in areas such as civil society and independent journalism, when many of its neighbours do not. Taiwan already has a dedicated resource center, the Taiwan Foundation for Democracy, which the HRF believe, deserves further support. “No one else is doing it”, Alex points out. By having a base in Taipei, Alex hopes to build a movement that would resonate throughout the Asia region.

Alex firmly believes in a stronger, well-supported and advancing Taiwan. To him and many present at today’s Oslo Freedom Forum, technology is intricately intertwined with freedom, and Taiwan is in the forefront position to be a game changer.

“I can see Taiwan really taking the lead.”

“If you care about your data and your privacy, you should come to support Taiwan.”

(Feature photo of Alex Gladstein, by Guang-hui Chuan)