The Global Taiwan Institute is pleased to announce the first event in its Civil Society and Democracy series, funded by a grant from the Taiwan Foundation for Democracy. This public seminar will focus on the recent surge of activism and democratic participation among young people in East Asia. In the last few years, there has been a remarkable shift in East Asia’s democracies with young people leading social movements for greater freedom and equality.
Jennifer Lu, from the Taiwan Tongzhi Hotline Association for LGBT rights, has been at the forefront of the marriage equality campaign in Taiwan and will share her insight into the gay rights movement. Johnson Yeung joins the panel to speak on his experience as a leader during the Umbrella Movement and his work as a civil society activist in Hong Kong. Dr. Andrew Yeo, from Catholic University, will speak on recent trends in South Korea’s democracy including the candle light vigil at Gwanghwamun Square that drew more than 1 million people.
Doors will open at 11:30. A light lunch will be served, and the event will begin at 12:00. Kindly RSVP by June 26. Please direct questions or concerns to abell@globaltaiwan.org.
**Media: Please contact Anna Scott Bell at abell@globaltaiwan.org if you would like to bring additional crew members or equipment, so that we can be sure to accommodate you.
Panelists
Jennifer Lu is a social worker, activist, writer and political participant. She has been engaged in LGBT rights and political reform movements for 13 years. In January 2016, Jennifer represented the Social Democratic Party, running for a parliamentary seat in general elections. During her election campaign, she and her team successfully raised the visibility of LGBT issues and pushed to include equal rights issues and young generation political participation on the agenda of the Taiwan parliament.
Andrew Yeo (Ph.D., Cornell University, 2008) is Associate Professor of Politics at the Catholic University of America and an expert on East Asia, U.S.-South Korea relations, and Korean civil society. He is the author of Activists, Alliances, and Anti-U.S. Base Protests (Cambridge University Press, 2011), which explores the impact of anti-base movements on U.S. overseas basing policy. His current research focuses on bilateral alliances and multilateralism in East Asia and has been supported by the East Asia Institute’s Program on Peace, Governance, and Democracy and the Earhart Foundation. Dr. Yeo was a Korea Foundation-Mansfield Foundation Scholar for 2013-14 and is a term member of the Council on Foreign Relations.
Johnson Yeung is a young human rights activist in Hong Kong and former Hurford Youth Fellow at the National Endowment for Democracy. He graduated with an LL.M (Human Rights) from the University of Hong Kong. Yeung was the spokesman for Civil Human Rights Front, a Hong Kong civil rights alliance, and was Deputy Secretary of the Federation of Students, the leading group of the 2014 Umbrella Movement.
The Civil Society and Democracy series will continue throughout the year and focus on various topics relating to Taiwan’s democracy and human rights. The Taiwan Foundation for Democracy is a non-profit, non-partisan organization and is the first national democracy assistance foundation to be established in Asia, and is devoted to strengthening democracy and human rights in Taiwan and abroad.