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<\/div>In 2014, the approval rating of Taiwan\u2019s government was less than 10 per cent. Popular dissatisfaction culminated in the Sunflower Movement, with students occupying legislative buildings to protest a proposed trade deal with China. Three weeks later, their demands were met. A decade on, this is seen as a turning point in Taiwanese democracy.<\/p>\n
One group to emerge from the movement was the civic technology cooperative g0v (pronounced \u201cgov zero\u201d), which included the well-known hacker<\/a> Audrey Tang. g0v proceeded to build a virtual platform for democratic deliberation called vTaiwan. The \u201cv\u201d stands for \u201cvirtual\u201d, but it could just as easily stand for \u201cvulnerable\u201d, says Tang. Born with a heart condition that nearly killed her as a child, she has since become the country\u2019s first transgender minister, and she draws parallels between the fragility of her own life and that of democracy.<\/p>\n Tang was invited to join the government in 2016 and set about implementing her vision of \u201cradical transparency\u201d, starting with vTaiwan. After the first covid-19<\/a> cases were declared in mainland China in late 2019, she became a central player in the Taiwanese government\u2019s response as a cabinet member for digital affairs. By 2022, Taiwan was being universally lauded for its handling of the pandemic and Tang was given her own ministry, becoming the country\u2019s first minister of digital affairs. In her new book, Plurality<\/i>, she argues that Taiwan \u2013 often seen as a potential flashpoint for future global conflict \u2013 is now a thriving democracy that has much to teach the world. She stood\u2026<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n