French documentary highlights Taiwan’s digitally armed democracy ‘under China’s shadow’

法國紀錄片突顯台灣“在中國陰影下”的民主數位裝甲

Alain Lewkowicz’s work presents Taiwan’s political past and present to European audiences


TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — French director Alain Lewkowicz’s film “Taiwan: A Democracy Under China’s Shadow,” which made its debut in Europe earlier this year, discusses how Taiwan fights back against China’s threats.

The film was selected for the International Documentary Festival (FIPADOC) and the International Film Festival and Forum on Human Rights (FIFDH). It has also been featured on various television networks, including Arte, a French-German channel offering cultural programming to European audiences.

After an overview of Taiwan’s political history, the film directs its focus to Taiwanese democracy in the digital age. “In Taiwan, democracy was born at the same time as the internet,” says the film’s introduction on Arte’s website.

Lewkowicz interviewed Taiwan’s celebrated Digital Minister Audrey Tang (唐鳳) in the film to highlight the role of the internet in the country's politics. The director describes Taiwan as “armed by lines of code” to defend itself against 5 million cyberattacks per day from China and to “make Taiwan the global laboratory of direct democracy.”

In an interview published by CNA on Monday (Aug. 16), Lewkowicz said that since the debut of the film, he has received a lot of support from European audiences, who learned about Taiwan through the film. He added that French audiences immediately compared Taiwan’s democracy to France’s: “France has an old, cold, and centralized democracy; Taiwan’s democracy is modern, filled with momentum and innovation.”

Lewkowicz said that while China’s image in France has seen a sharp decline during the pandemic, many people developed an interest in Taiwan, as its democracy was reinforced during these trying times.