Taiwan's democracy is holding up well despite constant pressure from China and deep political divides at home — a rare bright spot in a world where democracy is slipping backward.

• Stanford scholar Larry Diamond said Taiwan stays resilient even under China's non-stop information war and gray-zone harassment.
• He credits the independence of Taiwan's election commission for making its votes trusted, and said the U.S. should copy it.
• Democracy worldwide has been sliding for 20 years, and it has now turned into a populist authoritarian wave, including in the U.S.
• Six forces are driving the decline: less freedom, weaker rule of law, populism, social media polarization, and pushy authoritarian states like China and Russia.
• Taiwan's biggest security risks now come from inside as well as outside, 20 years after the Red Shirt anti-corruption protests.

Outlook: Expect China to keep up the information war and gray-zone pressure, with Taiwan's election system and civil society as its main defense.