TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — American actor Joseph Gordon-Levitt referred to Taiwan as a country and praised its democracy as “striking” while speaking at a summit on Thursday (Aug. 8).

Gordon-Levitt, best known for the films "500 Days of Summer" and "Inception" and the sitcom "3rd Rock from the Sun," attended the Asia Blockchain Summit in his capacity as founder of the online collaborative media platform HitRecord, per CNA. Participants included former Minister of Digital Affairs Audrey Tang (唐鳳), Ethereum founder Vitalik Buterin, and Microsoft Research's Glen Weyl.

As soon as he took the stage, Gordon-Levitt said, “It is my first time in this country,” and that he had spent a few days with his family and thoroughly enjoyed his time here. He talked about democratic institutions, diverse digital content, and creative collaboration. 

He said democratic systems symbolize diversity and it is necessary to find common ground. He added, “Taiwanese democracy is really striking.”

Gordon-Levitt pointed out the U.S. is a democratic society with low engagement. He also expressed curiosity about how Taiwan's democratic system operates.

Tang responded by sharing that during her tenure as the minister of digital affairs, the government provided a citizen initiative platform. She said some of the most influential petitions, such as banning the use of plastic straws in bubble tea takeaways, were initiated by people under the age of 18. 

This reflects not only the government's efforts but also the development of civil society, said Tang. 

Gordon-Levitt also inquired about her views on the U.S. ban on TikTok. Tang said that she recently joined the non-profit organization Project Liberty Institute, which plans to buy TikTok through a national bidding process and move TikTok to a digital open-source platform to create a more positive social network.

In 2020, Gordon-Levitt praised Taiwan's pandemic prevention achievements on Facebook. He also launched a project called "Faces of Taiwan" on his Facebook page, where he invited Taiwanese to submit photos of themselves, and the post was accompanied by a photo of the famous “Taipei Bridge Scooter Waterfall.”