Speaking for Taiwan through multiple channels
DIIS deputy director-general Volkan C.Y. Huang noted that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) is currently active on three social media platforms—Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram—and also has a YouTube channel, “Trending Taiwan.”
On Facebook, MOFA’s focus is on day-to-day foreign affairs, using posts to tell fans from Taiwan and abroad about new foreign policies of Taiwan and ongoing international interactions. Instagram is used to tell stories through pictures, often using images that capture the most moving moments of international relations in hopes of evoking Taiwan’s unique value in the international community. In contrast to these two, most Twitter users are from English-speaking countries, and given the platform’s immediate, uncluttered nature, it is often used to express the government’s position on issues of interest.
JW, the Twitter handle of Minister of Foreign Affairs Joseph Jaushieh Wu, has become a notable mark internationally. Whenever Taiwan is treated unfairly, “JW” will clearly express his views on the issue. Moreover, the MOFA Twitter feed has many followers among foreign political figures, media, and non-governmental organizations, who routinely make contact and interact on social media. Even when their countries have no formal diplomatic ties with Taiwan, so long as there are shared ideals, these people will speak up for Taiwan at important moments.
The aim of the “Trending Taiwan” YouTube channel, meanwhile, is to tell stories through video to inform the international community about Taiwan’s “soft power.” In 2015 MOFA decided to found this video channel in order to replace abstruse and intricate policy statements with films about people’s daily lives, using narrative videos to promote Taiwan. Trending Taiwan also produces relevant films for major international events in order to extol Taiwan’s ideals and capabilities.
On the eve of the World Health Assembly (WHA) in 2018, Trending Taiwan put out a short film entitled A Perfect Pair about how a Vietnamese girl named Nguyen Thi Loan, who was suffering from elephantiasis in one leg due to lymphedema, was restored to health and started a new life thanks to help from a Taiwanese medical team. Through this story, Taiwan wanted to demonstrate to the World Health Organization our nation’s medical capabilities and determination to contribute to world health, as expressed in the slogan “Health for all—Taiwan can help.” The video attracted over 10 million views, with one-tenth of the viewers coming from Loan’s homeland of Vietnam. Viewers from other nations left comments saying how moved they were by the film, or supporting Taiwan’s participation in the WHA. The Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs of the US Department of State retweeted the video, indicating their recognition of the quality of healthcare in Taiwan.
Volkan Huang, deputy director-general of MOFA’s Department of International Information Services, shares MOFA’s “new media” operating strategy at the Digital Diplomacy Workshop. (photo by Kent Chuang)