When analysts discuss Taiwan’s strategic importance to the West, they commonly note the island’s status as a thriving East Asian democracy. In a region where the most powerful country is a one-party authoritarian state, Taiwan’s democracy is seen as a living example of the political and economic success of a system in contrast to China’s. While observers recognize Taiwan’s value as a democracy in and of itself, it is less common to raise its capacity to promote democracy beyond the Taiwan Strait, such as in countries in Southeast Asia.
In recent years, a small but evolving network of Taiwanese civil society groups and international nongovernmental organizations (INGOs) has…