25. March 31, 2024
Invisible Women of the World Unite! We Need Far More Than a History Month in our Name if We're Going to Fight for Peace, Equality and Democracy at Home and Abroad
The people of Taiwan voted on January 13th for an historic third term for President Tsai Ing-wen’s Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) cementing Tsai’s pivotal leadership in maintaining peace and preserving Taiwan’s democracy, making her Vice President Lai Ching-te the President-elect, and her de facto Ambassador to the U.S. Hsiao Bi-khim the Vice President-elect. President Tsai and Vice President-elect Hsiao, (who I also got to know as she is a participant in our film INVISIBLE NATION and over the course of President Tsai’s two terms in office goes from legislator to Ambassador), are two phenomenal women deserving of deep respect and gratitude for all they’ve done for Taiwan’s democracy, for Women, Peace and Security (WPS) and Taiwan’s and democracy’s international reputation and standing in the world.
If you don’t believe in democracy or don’t know why democracy matters or makes a difference for you, (as so many young people say), or you feel disillusioned by countries that call themselves democracies, but never fully achieved the promise of democracy for all, or worse, have been taken over by deranged demagogues (who so many old, greedy CEOs and deranged demagogues in dictatorships around the world support) then INVISIBLE NATION is the film to restore your faith in the future of democracy. I have seen the future and it is developing rapidly in Taiwan. I’ve been traveling with the film all over the world (to so many places: France; Utah; Australia; Germany where we won a Cinema for Peace award; Luxembourg; Sun Valley, Idaho where we won a “One in a Million Best Documentary” award and our producer, Ted Hope was honored with the Pioneer award; Copenhagen, Denmark; The Hague; the Czech Republic; Sonoma, California, where, from a prestigious jury, we won the Grand Jury Prize for Best Documentary— so nonstop since January that I haven’t had time to post here) and audiences everywhere are overwhelming us with their gratitude for this story at this time that was so hard to capture and get out and is now in such serious demand that we can’t keep up.
The demand to screen our film went up exponentially after this Variety review hit on January 21st (which will be the day after inauguration day in the U.S. in one year!):
‘Invisible Nation’ Review: Taiwan’s President Tsai Ing-wen Fights For Her Country’s Survival in Vanessa Hope’s Compelling Documentary
Taiwan’s troubled past and uncertain future come sharply into focus in this timely and valuable film.
When President Tsai steps down from office on May 20th and President-elect Lai makes his inauguration speech, the world can expect China to increase threats and military exercises directed at Taiwan across the Taiwan Strait as a sickening display of violent power to take what they want, when they want and kill and destroy at will irrespective of international law, human freedom and the rights of a sovereign people to self-determination.
In the U.S., if we don’t want a repeat of the nonstop threats, insanity and violence from right wing mobs and the deranged demagogue who rallied them throughout his four years in office and extending through his January 6, 2021 attempt to steal the election, then we have to vote like our democracy depends on it this November, because it does. And if we’re unsatisfied with our choice of candidates or our government then we need to demand what we want from the only candidate who has and can deliver results and shows us that if he hasn’t heard us yet, he does know how to listen and learn and that is Biden. There is a ton of course correcting the U.S. needs to do especially in its outdated and hypocritical foreign policy, (the latest book on this subject, and my favorite is GRAND STRATEGIES OF THE LEFT, THE FOREIGN POLICY OF PROGRESSIVE WORLDMAKING by Van Jackson), but if a deranged demagogue is able to take over the U.S. government, destroy what remains of our struggling democracy and governs like he deserves the absolute power he will take then not only are Americans doomed, but so is the world. The people I’m meeting around the world know it, but they worry that Americans do not yet.
There are a lot of us women in the world and the men who support our equal power (which is critical to peace) who don’t want to live under the constant threat of violence, terror and war from men, who can do much more for people who have no choice but to live in war zones and places set up to be the next war zone like Taiwan.
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Here is a small snapshot of some of the work we have been doing with INVISIBLE NATION for Taiwan and democracy in the world while on the road and with the support of Think-Film on impact:
In the framework of the Berlin International Film Festival in February, (which had issues with its own right wing party this year) and in the shadow of the sudden death in a penal colony of the Russian opposition politician Alexei Navalny which caused a tremendous outpouring of grief and solidarity for all who oppose autocracies around the world, INVISIBLE NATION garnered influential supporters and put a spotlight on the value of culture and film in maintaining Taiwan’s democracy, identity and representation in international diplomacy. We participated in the following events:
● High-level German Parliament (Bundestag) impact screening and panel discussion at the Reichstag hosted by the FDP party with MP Ulrich Lechte and Parliamentary Secretary Christine Aschenberg-Dugnus solidifying the European political resonance of INVISIBLE NATION and its impact. The discussion drew connections between Taiwan and West Berlin and reflected on how Taiwan’s safety depends on whether China thinks the world cares about defending Taiwan's future. German FDP MP Ulrich Lechte affirmed his support for the film and the need for all countries to stand behind Taiwan, which he said has become a role model on protecting democracy for Germany and many other western countries. Parliamentary Secretary Christine Aschenberg-Dugnus said she had learned from the film how democracies of the world must stand together. Taiwan Representative (de facto Ambassador) to Germany Shieh Jhy-wey urged politicians in the room and beyond to continue showing solidarity with Taiwan and acknowledged the importance of European partners collaborating with Taiwan.
● INVISIBLE NATION awarded the ‘Cinema for Peace Honorary Award’ and President Tsai Ing-wen awarded the ‘Cinema For Peace Guardian of Democracy Award’, championing the visibility and recognition of a nation and leader under-recognized for their role in global peace and security. The film was recognized for its key contribution to elevating Taiwanese voices in international dialogue and demonstrating the power of film more broadly as a vital tool in the fight for the preservation of freedom and democracy for all.
● Panels at the inaugural Cinema for Peace World Forum on the “Future of Democracy, Tech and Humankind” lead to a draft White Paper on “Taiwan and Ukraine Under Threat,” spearheaded by former UN Under-Secretary-General for Legal Affairs and Legal Counsel, Hans Corell. Participants called for Taiwan to have a seat at the UN to have an equal footing in negotiations with China and urged international support to discourage China and other like-minded political aggressors. Inspired by the discussions and the film, the white paper addresses how Taiwan could be more clearly represented in international fora and mechanisms.
“Invisible Nation” Executive Producer, Ming Chiang highlighted how China sees Taiwan’s democracy as a threat, drawing examples from China’s use of cyberwarfare and disinformation to undermine Taiwanese people’s freedom of choice and democracy by dividing communities and changing perception of how democracy works. Former Foreign Minister of Estonia, Eva-Maria Liimets drew parallels between Taiwan and Ukraine, both of which face aggressors that seek to challenge and disrupt their autonomy. Former Ambassador at Large for Taiwan, Maysing Yang echoed this by saying that Ukraine must win to show autocrats around the world that they cannot rule with war.
● ICD Academy for Cultural Diplomacy screening and panel discussion event addressed the topic of misinformation and positioned INVISIBLE NATION as a beacon for cultural diplomacy with panel participation from German Marshall Fund Senior Fellow Mareike Ohlberg who emphasized how significant INVISIBLE NATION is to world democracy and wrote two op-eds: Voting in Beijing’s Shadow: The People’s Republic of China Interferes in the 2024 Taiwanese Elections, and this second one about our film, Bullying from Beijing: Taiwan, The Invisible Country, Taiwan is de facto an independent state. But China does not allow other countries to officially recognize the island democracy.
Think-Film COO and INVISIBLE NATION Impact Producer Amy Shepherd moderated a discussion before the screening that in particular dissected China’s use of language and disinformation as a tool to isolate and oppress Taiwan. I emphasized the importance of shining a light on facts and true history to combat China’s disinformation and challenge misconceptions of Taiwan’s history and democratic past, demonstrating the urgency of INVISIBLE NATION.
German Marshall Fund Senior Fellow Mareike Ohlberg explained how China wants the rest of the world to follow its selective terminology and language around Taiwan and shared tangible examples of ways in which China has leveraged its economic and diplomatic status to keep Taiwan invisible - such as the use of “Taiwan, China” on airline and hotel booking sites which is addressed in the film. Former Ambassador at Large, Taiwan Maysing Yang reminded the audience that Taiwan is one of the top 10 most democratic countries in the world with significant economic and trade leverage through its microchip industry and that the voices of the people of Taiwan deserve to be heard and respected.
AND THAT WAS JUST BERLIN! Every single place we go in the world, we have these high level, packed screenings and discussions. There’s a deep desire among people in the world for peace right now which comes with equality and democracy that this film is tapping into and spreading — hopefully, in the nick of time for Taiwan.
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If you want to show up for our film and learn more about how to show up for peace, equality and democracy, I will be writing much more about it and continuing to share where we’re going next. For now, here’s April:
APRIL
April 9th, 5pm, April 10, 2:40pm Cleveland International Film Festival, tickets: https://www.clevelandfilm.org/films/invisible-nation
April 11th evening COUNCIL ON FOREIGN RELATIONS, WASHINGTON, DC at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg Center (formerly the Newseum) with distinguished guests and panel discussion. RSVP invite only.
April 12, 6pm Princeton University screening
April 13, Rutgers University screening (*Note: Boston, ArtsEmerson screening formerly also on the 13th will be rescheduled)
Apr 14th, 1:30 pm, Apr 17th, 1:00pm Florida Film Festival tickets: https://floridafilmfestival.com/films/
April 19th and 20th, RiverRun Film Festival, Winston-Salem and Greensboro, North Carolina https://riverrunfilm.com/news-3-19-24/
If you’re interested in inviting our film to screen at your University or think tank, get in touch. We’re traveling with the film through the fall.
Thank you for your support!
This is fantastic Vanessa. It’s so crucial that filmmakers show us their vision of the political landscape and with their work fight for the freedom and independence of the most vulnerable and least visible. Congratulations for your commitment, your knowledge and sensitivity towards equality for women all over the world and for bringing us this exemplary model, President Tsai Ing-wen. Congratulations again to you, Ted and the whole team for this achievement 💪🏻🎥👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻