1. Introduction
This Privacy Policy explains how IPEIR — the Institute for Political Economy and International Relations (https://ipeir.org) — handles personal information. IPEIR is an independent, nonpartisan think tank based in Taiwan. In this Policy, “we”, “us” and “our” refer to IPEIR.
We respect your privacy. This Policy describes, in general terms, the information we may collect through our website and our communications, how we may use it, and the choices available to you. It applies to our website, our correspondence with you, our recruitment activities and our work with research contributors.
By using our website or contacting us, you acknowledge this Policy.
2. Information We Collect
2.1 Information you provide
We collect the information you choose to give us — for example, when you contact us through our website, write to us by email, or correspond with us through a messaging application. This may include your name and contact details, your affiliation and the content of your message; your subscription details if you sign up for updates; and, if you apply to work with us or submit a contribution, the information you send us, such as your résumé or CV, writing samples, references and background information.
2.2 Information collected automatically
Like most websites, ours automatically records technical information — such as IP address, browser and device type, the pages requested and the time of the request — in standard server logs. We use this information for security, for understanding in aggregate how the site is used, and to improve it. Where we use cookies or similar technologies, they are described in Section 5.
2.3 Information from other sources
We may consult publicly available information in the course of our research.
3. How We Use Information
We use personal information for the purposes for which it was provided, including:
- responding to enquiries and requests;
- sending you updates or publications you have asked to receive;
- assessing applications and managing our relationships with research contributors;
- commissioning, engaging and paying contributors;
- verifying information where we consider it appropriate to do so;
- operating, securing and improving our website, and preventing fraud or misuse;
- complying with our legal, accounting and tax requirements.
We do not use your information for advertising, and we do not profile visitors for marketing purposes; advertising our own vacancies on third-party platforms is not a use of your information.
4. Legal Bases
Where the laws of the European Economic Area or the United Kingdom apply, we process personal information on the basis of your consent, the performance of a contract, our legitimate interests (such as operating our website, carrying out research and assessing applications), or compliance with legal obligations. Where Taiwan’s Personal Data Protection Act (個人資料保護法) applies, we process personal data for the specific purposes described in this Policy. Other jurisdictions may impose additional requirements, and we aim to act consistently with applicable privacy law.
5. Cookies
Our website may place cookies and similar technologies on your device — small files that help a website function, keep it secure and, where we measure usage, allow us to measure it. These generally fall into the usual categories: cookies that are strictly necessary for the site to work and remain secure; cookies that remember your preferences; and cookies used to measure usage in aggregate. At present we use only the first of these, together with any that our hosting and security providers require. You can refuse or delete cookies through your browser settings, although some parts of the website may then not work as intended. Where the law requires it, we will ask for your consent before setting non-essential cookies.
6. Social Media and Embedded Content
We maintain public pages on X, Facebook, Instagram and Threads, and we may publish vacancies on these and other platforms (for example LinkedIn or Indeed). Your use of those platforms is governed by their own terms and privacy policies, which we do not control. Where our website includes embedded content, such as a video, it behaves in the same way as visiting the source website directly: the provider may collect information about you and monitor your interaction with that content. Links to social media pages or other third-party sites do not connect you to them unless you click them.
7. Sharing and Disclosure
We do not sell personal information to third parties, and we do not share it for others’ marketing purposes.
We may share personal information with service providers who help us operate our website and our communications — for example hosting, email, analytics and messaging services — and only as necessary for the services they provide. Those providers are required to keep the information confidential and to use it only for the agreed purpose. We may also disclose information where we are required to do so by law or by a valid legal request, or where we believe disclosure is necessary to protect rights, safety or property.
8. Retention
We keep personal information only for as long as necessary for the purposes described in this Policy, or as required or permitted by law, and we may delete or anonymise it when it is no longer needed. You may ask us to delete your information at any time, and we will do so unless we are required to keep it.
9. Security
We take reasonable technical and organisational measures to protect personal information, including encrypting communications through our website and restricting access to our systems to those who need it. No method of transmission or storage is entirely secure.
10. International Transfers
We are based in Taiwan and work with service providers in various countries, so personal information may be stored or processed in jurisdictions other than your own. Where required, we take steps to ensure that appropriate safeguards apply.
11. Your Rights
Depending on where you live, you may have the right to ask what personal information we hold about you, to request a copy, correction or deletion of it, to object to or restrict certain processing, to withdraw consent where processing is based on consent, or to ask us to stop sending you communications. To exercise any of these rights, or to ask a question about this Policy, please contact us. We may need to verify your identity, and additional exceptions may apply under local law.
12. Applicants and Contributors
If you apply to work with us or contribute to our research, we handle the information you provide in order to assess your application or contribution, to communicate with you, and to manage any engagement, including payment. We may verify the information you provide. Our correspondence with applicants and contributors is kept confidential, and if your application is not taken forward you may ask us to delete your materials.
13. Confidentiality
Much of our work is confidential. We protect the identity of our clients and the confidentiality of their materials, and we do not disclose commissioned research outside the project team. Information we collect through this website is not used for the research we produce for clients.
14. Children
Our website and our work are intended for adults. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children.
15. Third-Party Sites
Our website may link to third-party sites. We are not responsible for their content, or for the information they collect or how they use it, and we encourage you to review their privacy policies.
16. Legal Requests
We may disclose personal information where we are required or permitted to do so by law, including in response to a valid request from a court, a regulator or a law-enforcement agency, or where we believe disclosure is necessary to protect rights, safety or property. Any such disclosure will be made in accordance with applicable law.
17. Changes to This Policy
We may update this Policy from time to time. The current version is always available on this page, with the date of the most recent update shown above.
18. Contact
For any question about this Policy, or to exercise your rights, please contact:
IPEIR — Institute for Political Economy and International Relations Taipei, Taiwan Email: [email protected]