Date: 5/2, 7 PM
Place: DAYBREAK (Bangka Boulevard, No. 110, 1F, Wanhua District, Taipei/台北市萬華區艋舺大道110號1樓)
Entry: 100 NT
Though few have sought to connect the dots, the last few months have seen various uprisings across the region. This panel, then, will seek to explore the points of connection and similarities between these various regional uprisings, featuring speakers from all these contexts.
An attempted coup in South Korea by President Yoon Suk Yeol, leading to a brief declaration of martial law in December of last year, led to months of protests calling for Yoon’s removal. Yoon has since been impeached, though much uncertainty remains in South Korean politics going forward.
In Indonesia in February, new laws that would allow members of the military to take up civilian positions in government prompted the series of demonstrations known as “#IndonesiaGelap,” or “Dark Indonesia”. Youth-led sought to contest what they saw as a throwback to Indonesia’s authoritarian period, with current President Prabowo Subianto having been a former general implicated in war crimes.
In the Philippines in March, former president Rodrigo Duterte was arrested and sent to The Hague on charges of crimes against humanity as part of International Criminal Court proceedings. Though Duterte’s arrest is a welcome move in the wake of the thousands left dead due to this drug war, this comes as the result of conflict between the Marcos and Duterte political clans–current Philippine president “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. is the son of former dictator Ferdinand Marcos Sr.
As for Taiwan, Taiwan has not seen any corresponding wave of protest. But last year, Taiwan saw the eruption of the Bluebird Movement, against attempts by the KMT to seek an expansion of legislative powers in a way that sparked concerns about civic freedoms. The KMT at present continues with its actions, having frozen the Constitutional Court through legislation, and cut close to 1/3rd of the government’s operating budget. Since then, political momentum has been steered in the direction of expansive recall campaigns against all KMT legislators.
More broadly. we see the pattern of youth-led protest across the region, against throwbacks to past authoritarianism. What comes next for the region? What is the path forward for these protests? This panel will discuss and reflect upon these questions for our times.
Speakers: Bori (South Korea), Gino (Philippines), Anonymous Indonesian Speaker, Brian Hioe (Taiwan)
Bori(he/him)
- Seoul, South Korea
- Staff organizer for the Seoul Regional Council of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions / Platform C member
- Interested in international solidarity, esp across East(including South East) Asia
Gino (he/him)
- From Bacolod, Philippines
Now residing in Taipei, Taiwan, doing his undergrad at NCCU
- Volunteer for Migrante Taiwan
- Part time journalist for TaiwanPlus News
- Co-founder of international solidarity org Milk Tea Alliance Philippines and Filipino LGBTQ+ org Tribu Duag
- Formerly a volunteer for human rights organization Karapatan and intern for the Philippines’ Commission on Human Rights - Region III
- Covered human rights abuses under Duterte administration in Negros Island for progressive news outfit Paghimutad and - Altermidya
Brian Hioe (he/him)
- One of the co-founders of New Bloom
- Freelance journalist
Poster photographs sources:
Indonesia: Hutomo via Wikipedia
Korea: Hashflu via Wikipedia
Taiwan: Fujifilmuser Taiwan via Wikipedia
Manila Disaster Risk Reduction Management (MDRRM) Office - Philippine Daily Inquirer via Wikipedia
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