Media Coverage Highlights
This collection showcases key media coverage on the 2025 Taipei International Peace Forum, organized by the Lung Yingtai Cultural Foundation. Featuring in-depth interviews and feature stories, editorials, and opinion pieces, these articles capture how Taiwan’s first large-scale international peace forum sparked extensive public dialogue on democracy, conflict, technology, climate, and coexistence.
Readers may click the links provided to access the original articles for full context and detail. Please note that many of the articles were originally published in Chinese. The English summaries presented here have been translated and condensed with the assistance of AI to enhance accessibility for international audiences.
In “Why Talk About Peace Now?”, Lung Ying-tai examines the contrasting ways Beijing and Taipei both invoke “peace” through the language of military power She argues that true peace demands humility, restraint, and moral courage rather than simply strength and weaponry. Drawing on global historical lessons—from Northern Ireland and postwar Europe to South Africa—Lung shows that reconciliation often begins with gestures of humility, not domination. She cautions that militarization breeds isolation and cycles of retaliation, while peace, though at times costly, is the wiser investment of those who truly exhibit strength. For Taiwan, she contends, peace is not naïveté nor concession but strategic agency— the capacity to shape its own future through resilience, dialogue, and innovation. Instead of being a “porcupine” trapped in fear, Taiwan can stand as a model of civic strength and creative diplomacy—demonstrating that peace itself can be a form of power.
🔗A dialogue between an Palestinian and Israeli in Taipei
In this Taipei Times interview, Israeli peace educator Roi Silberberg, director of the School for Peace, and Palestinian scholar Hazem Almassry, a Gaza-born researcher at Academia Sinica, engage in a rare and uneasy dialogue ahead of their joint appearance at the Taipei International Peace Forum. Both caution against abstract discussions about “peace” or political solutions while war, displacement, and starvation persist in Gaza. Almassry emphasizes the urgency to raise awareness of the ongoing humanitarian catastrophe and the global indifference that enables it, underscoring the deep power imbalance between Israel and Palestine. Silberberg, reflecting on the difficulty of dialogue in times of rage, insists that meeting “the other” remains essential—even when it feels futile. For both speakers of the forum, their presence in Taiwan is less about offering solutions and more about confronting denial, sharing testimony, and urging audiences to look beyond distant abstractions to the human reality of Gaza and Israel’s enduring tragedy.
United Daily News (online edition)
🔗Lung Ying-tai: In Addition to War Games, Taiwan Also Needs Peace Games
At the 2025 Taipei International Peace Forum, former Minister of Culture Lung Ying-tai urged Taiwan to conduct not only traditional “war games” but also “peace games”—strategic simulations for de-escalation and crisis management. Addressing critics who labeled her “pro-China,” Lung emphasized that national defense is vital but insufficient without parallel efforts to strengthen social resilience and psychological preparedness. Drawing on models from the U.S. Institute of Peace (USIP), she explained that peace simulations—such as negotiating ceasefires, coordinating humanitarian corridors, or managing public sentiment after an incident—are essential to prevent escalation. Lung further advocated for “goodwill projects,” suggesting that Taiwan must build trust with Chinese citizens and enhance its international image through creativity and humanitarian engagement. True security, she said, depends not only on military readiness but also on the strength of a resilient, empathetic society capable of lowering hostility and safeguarding democracy through the work of peace.
At the 2025 Taipei International Peace Forum, Lung Ying-tai, chair of the Lung Yingtai Cultural Foundation and former Minister of Culture, firmly dismissed accusations of being “pro-China,” asserting that peace is not surrender but the deliberate construction of resilience. While reaffirming the importance of war simulations (“war games”) for national defense, she noted that Taiwan must also conduct “peace simulations” (“peace games”)—strategic crisis-cooling exercises that model how to de-escalate tension, prevent miscalculations, and sustain public morale. Drawing on examples from the U.S. Institute of Peace (USIP) and Japan’s Taiwan-scenario drills, Lung argued that societies must prepare not only militarily but also psychologically and socially. This includes strengthening energy, food, and water security while cultivating empathy and trust. Lung also called for a “goodwill and charm offensive” aimed at building positive ties with Chinese citizens and showcasing Taiwan’s creativity and humanitarian values on the global stage. “Without peace, there is no sustainability,” she concluded. “And without peace, democracy cannot endure.”
At the 2025 Taipei International Peace Forum, ocean governance scholar Dr. Yoshitaka Ota, Director of the Ocean Nexus and Professor at the University of Rhode Island, emphasized that economic growth alone cannot safeguard humanity in the face of climate change. Ota called for a new framework of “ocean equity” that integrates national security with human security, arguing that peace must also include environmental stability and social resilience. As warming seas push fish stocks northward, he warned that Taiwan’s small-scale and subsistence fishers will be the first to suffer the severe losses. He urged governments to prioritize protection of coastal communities, invest in local risk management systems, and ensure equitable access to marine resources. Drawing on Ocean Nexus’ global research network and data systems, he stressed that sustainable ocean governance must be based on inclusive, community-based approaches rather than growth-driven or Western-modeled policies. True peace, he concluded, begins when every person’s fundamental needs—food, water, and dignity—are secured.
In this interview, Lung Ying-tai argues that, unlike Europe, the U.S., Japan, and South Korea—where children are taught conflict resolution from an early age—the Chinese-speaking world largely lacks systematic peace education. Military preparedness, she stresses, is necessary but never the ultimate goal; the goal is peace, which requires a comprehensive “peace pathway” that integrates defense with economic strategy, education, culture, people-to-people exchanges, and practical cooperation in fields such as science, law enforcement, and climate, even amid political tension. Lung urges Taiwan to “liberate” the meaning of peace from partisan stigma, broaden it to include environmental protection, ecological balance, and social justice. She highlights Taiwan’s structural vulnerabilities such as water and food security, and notes the historical links between natural disasters and political upheaval. Facing these risks, she calls for open public debate, transparent information-sharing, and evidence-based planning that protects basic needs and societal resilience. Taiwan, she concludes, should replace a singular “gunboat mindset” with a full-spectrum peace roadmap—so it remains a cherished island, not a militarized battleship.
Palestinian scholar Hazem Almassry, living in Taiwan for nearly a decade, argues that Taiwan misunderstands Israel and should not treat it as a model of resilience. He contends that Israel’s survival depends not on innovation but on massive U.S. military aid, and that Israeli society has become increasingly extreme under Zionist ideology, leaving little space for peace efforts. He cautions Taiwan against relying solely on military solutions, citing Ukraine as evidence that even strong armies face catastrophic destruction. Instead, he urges Taiwan to expand dialogue with China as means of preventing war, warning that any conflict—won or lost—would bring devastating consequences to the island. He also observes that China’s support for Palestine is mostly rhetorical, as it maintains close ties with Israel. For Taiwan, he concludes, it should avoid idolizing Israel and focus on creating more space for peace.
Daniela Segovia, a Venezuelan diplomat and research coordinator at the Refugee Self-Reliance Initiative (RSRI), stresses in this interview that migrants and refugees should not be seen as a burden but as a source of strength, resilience, and cultural enrichment for the societies that welcome them. She argues that the recent wave of “reverse migration” exposes the fragility of Latin America’s protection systems, highlighting the need for stronger regional cooperation and clearer distinctions between migrants and refugees, many of whom cannot safely return home. For Segovia, human dignity must remain central: behind every statistic is a real person, and inclusive policies, empathetic frontline support, and cultural exchange, from food to music, are essential to counter xenophobia and foster more cohesive, compassionate communities.
🔗Exclusive Interview: Using Theater to Dialogue with Different People — Chinese Playwright Cao Kefei in Germany Wants to Bring Cross-Strait Historical Wounds to the Stage
Berlin-based Chinese playwright Cao Kefei uses theatre to uncover overlooked stories and historical traumas across the Taiwan Strait. Drawing inspirations from Lung Yingtai’s Big River, Big Sea 1949, she is developing a new production with Heidelberg University to illuminate marginalized personal narratives from the Chinese Civil War. Her recent visit to Kinmen, Cao was struck by how the island’s Cold War remnants and its physical proximity to Xiamen made history feel immediate. The experience deepened her belief that theatre can create empathetic spaces that transcend ideology. Through her past works exploring memory, migration, and family, Cao emphasizes dialogue, tenderness, and human connection as essential ways to understand others. She hopes for more cross-Strait exchanges, arguing that direct contact allows people to recognize one another as individuals beyond political systems. For Cao, sustained cultural and educational dialogue offer a meaningful path toward improving cross-Strait relations.
🔗Exclusive Interview: Is Peace in Gaza a Fantasy? Israelis Also Suffer Deeply — Peace School Director: Dialogue Is the Only Way Out
Roi Silberberg, director of the Peace School at Wahat al-Salam/Neve Shalom, insists that amid Gaza’s worsening violence and rising polarization, dialogue remains the only viable path to break the cycle of fear, oppression, and mistrust between Israelis and Palestinians. His community uses structured intergroup dialogue to confront entrenched power imbalances, surface hidden issues, and foster a shared sense of responsibility for change. Silberberg acknowledges the fear, trauma, and political disillusionment experienced by many Israelis. Yet he also notes a growing anti-war sentiment and emerging recognition that the old “normal” built on occupation cannot endure. Peace. he contends, requires moral courage and clear values—not military strength—and offers Taiwan the reminder that societies must resist normalizing oppression. For Silberberg, dialogue is not idealism but necessity: without mutual agreement on coexistence, normal life is impossible for either side.
French peace expert Benjamin Abtan argues that Ukraine’s resilience stems from strong social cohesion built around democratic values—something Taiwan also shares, even though Taiwan’s cultural and historical relationship with China differs from Ukraine’s break with Russian identity. He stresses that peace and war are not opposites; societies must learn to actively build peace even amid periods of tension or conflict. Drawing on his work helping Ukrainian children through community-based support networks, he urges Taiwan to foster open discussion about identity and history. Genuine peace, he warns, requires confronting difficult questions rather than relying solely on military deterrence or social harmony.
🔗Exclusive Interview: When the Internet Becomes a Platform for Hate, What Can We Do? U.S. Expert: Taiwan Can “Do These Things”
Digital peace expert Emma Baumhofer argues that fact-checking alone cannot counter the speed of misinformation and that simply deleting harmful content does not create peace. Instead, she calls for the design of digital spaces that encourage safety, dialogue, and mutual listening. Baumhofer notes that Taiwan’s uniquely nuanced attitudes toward China, coupled with strong social cohesion and civic engagement, position the island to become a pioneer in “digital peace.” She suggests that Taiwan can lead globally by combining misinformation prevention, youth participation, and platforms that support constructive, inclusive online engagements.
🔗How Can Taiwan Find Its Place Amid U.S.–China Rivalry? Lung Ying-tai Stresses the Need for a “Peace Push”: Survival Is at Stake
At the 2025 Taipei International Peace Forum, Lung Yingtai urged Taiwan to complement military war-games with a “peace-game” that rehearses crisis de-escalation, social resilience, and soft-power strategies. Instead of simulating battles, peace-games model diplomacy, messaging, humanitarian responses, and ways to prevent small incidents from spiraling into war. With 2027 widely viewed as a high-risk year, Lung emphasized the importance of strengthening energy and food security, sustaining public morale, and building international trust. She also advocated for proactive “goodwill” and efforts and cultural outreach to reduce hostility and expand Taiwan’s global connections. In Lung’s view, war-games prepare Taiwan to fight; peace-games prepare Taiwan to avoid becoming a battleground.
🔗Peace Forum: Can a “Peace Plan” Replace War Across the Strait? Expert Says It’s Not Too Late
At the 2025 Taipei International Peace Forum, peace expert Benjamin Abtan and playwright Cao Kefei stressed that it is not too late for Taiwan to pursue peaceful alternatives to conflict with China. Abtan emphasized that peace can be actively strengthened even amid tension, through community engagement, trust-building, and the reinforcement of democratic resilience, drawing lessons from Ukraine. Cao, reflecting on her work with refugees and communities affected by war, highlighted the human cost of war. She urged Taiwanese society to safeguard its fragile peace and resist hostility toward those who calls for dialogue. Both emphasized that meaningful peacebuilding must start before conflict begins.
🔗Peace Forum: Taiwan’s First Wave of Climate Refugees May Come from Indigenous and Coastal Areas? Japanese Scholar Warns of Southern Fishery Collapse
At the 2025 Taipei International Peace Forum, scholars cautioned that climate change poses an imminent threat to Taiwan’s human security, with Indigenous and coastal communities likely to become the island’s first climate refugees. Ocean governance expert Yoshitaka Ota highlighted rapidly warming seas and projections of a fisheries collapse in southern Taiwan by 2100, underscoring the urgent need to center policy on the most vulnerable populations. Former Interior Minister Lee Hong-yuan warned that droughts, water scarcity, and ecological fragility pose far greater long-term risks to Taiwan than storms—or even war. He urged the nation to rebuild resilience through ecological restoration, sustainable development, and stronger investment in mountain and Indigenous communities, whose traditional knowledge and environments are under increasing pressure.
🔗Peace Forum: Are We All Being Controlled by Algorithms? Experts Warn Humans Are Especially Vulnerable to Emotional Information
At the 2025 Taipei International Peace Forum, digital peace expert Emma Baumhofer warned that algorithm-driven platforms amplify misinformation and emotionally charged content, fueling polarization and online abuse—especially toward women. She argued that real peacebuilding requires designing safer, more inclusive digital spaces and using technology intentionally for dialogue, mediation, and community engagement. Baumhofer urged cross-disciplinary collaboration and critical digital skills, emphasizing that Taiwan’s digital democracy makes it well positioned to model how technology can support peace rather than manipulate society.
🔗Peace Forum: In the Age of Digital Authoritarianism, Can We Still Speak Freely? Experts Highlight Taiwan’s Use of Technology to Foster Participation
At the 2025 Taipei International Peace Forum, Harvard researcher Huang Yen-lin warned that Taiwan sits between rising digital authoritarianism and dysfunctional commercial platforms that fuel censorship, surveillance fears, and echo chambers. Yet he stressed that technology can also strengthen democracy, pointing to Taiwan’s civic-tech successes like open-source mask distribution maps and community disaster tools. Huang urged rebuilding safe “kitchen conversation” spaces—places where people can speak truthfully—and using tech to support participation and cooperation rather than silence, arguing this is key to resisting digital oppression and sustaining a healthy public sphere.
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