Huckabee draws parallels between Taiwan and Israel, urges cooperation on cyber threats
At a Tel Aviv University panel, US Ambassador Mike Huckabee and Taiwan representative Ya-Ping Lee emphasized cooperation among Israel, Taiwan and the United States on technology and digital security.
By Hiroshi Ferrari ·
US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee drew comparisons between Taiwan and Israel during a panel at Tel Aviv University on Wednesday, November 11, saying their technological achievements and democratic freedoms reflected important similarities. Speaking at the university’s Cyber Week & AI Week, he called for cooperation among Israel, Taiwan and the United States as cyber threats grow.
Huckabee appeared alongside Ya-Ping (Abby) Lee, the representative of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Tel Aviv. He said Taiwan “very much reminds me of Israel in many ways,” pointing to the technologies both have helped create and the benefits those developments have brought to people around the world.
The ambassador linked those contributions to the freedoms available in both societies. He described Israel and Taiwan as democracies where people enjoy freedom of speech and movement, and where women have equal roles in government and the private sector. In his view, those conditions help make technological breakthroughs possible.
Turning to security, Huckabee stressed the importance of partnerships that connect countries in different regions. He said cooperation among Israel, Taiwan and the United States was particularly important in responding to growing cyber threats, with international partnerships providing a foundation for protecting critical infrastructure, systems and essential services.
Huckabee warned that the misuse of technology could have consequences extending to injury or death on a large scale. He asked the audience to consider the potential for cyber capabilities to be abused in ways that could harm or kill many people.
He also described the threat as a continuing concern, saying that while he sleeps, people elsewhere in the world are working out how to turn technology into a means of destruction. Addressing the professionals in the audience, he said their daily work played a critical role in protecting others.
Lee likewise emphasized cooperation among Taiwan, Israel and the United States, focusing on its importance in the age of artificial intelligence. She said shared values connected partners across borders in the digital domain, and highlighted international collaboration as central to developing new solutions and strengthening digital trust.
Her remarks also acknowledged technology’s capacity to help and to harm. “Technology is like fire. It can be useful, but it also causes harm,” Lee said.
