Taiwan Tati Cultural and Educational Foundation

A US congressional committee on Thursday questioned the US Navy over what it called “alarming delays” in weapons deliveries to Taiwan, asking why production sometimes languished for months or years after purchasing deals were signed.

Time was running out to deter military action by China toward Taiwan, US Representative Mike Gallagher, chair of the House of Representatives’ Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party, and US Representative Young Kim, chair of the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on the Indo Pacific, said in the letter to US Secretary of the Navy Carlos Del Toro.

In the current digitalized world, it is increasingly difficult to distinguish between genuine concerns raised democratically by citizens and politically motivated talking points pushed forth by those with ulterior motives.

There was a time when online users could calmly articulate a political position and others would likewise respond in a thoughtful manner. These days, respectful disagreements and civil online debates are rare. The descent toward a populist online culture is no particular group’s fault. Social media platforms constantly flood their users with information far beyond the limits of a sane person’s attention span. In this ecosystem, sensationalist positions are naturally the ones that get the most spotlight.