2023 TWxSEA Civil Society Week 台灣與東南亞公民社會週

2023 Taiwan and Southeast Asia Civil Society Week Program and Pictures

亞洲公民未來協會 Asia Citizen Future Association

26 Oct 2023 — 10 min read

About the Taiwan and Southeast Asia Civil Society Week

"Taiwan and Southeast Asia Civil Society Week" is a platform organized by ACFA to connect civil society organisations and activists among Taiwan and Southeast Asia. The 2023 Taiwan and Southeast Asia Civil Society Week is an initial stage for CSOs and activists in the region who are facing threats derived from the trend of the closing civic space to come together to explore Taiwan's condition on providing support or any further and potential collaboration.

About the report launch forum

In the 2023 Taiwan and Southeast Asia Civil Society Week, ACFA has launched a report "Exploring Taiwan's Role Amid the Crisis of Closing Civic Space in Southeast Asia" which is the results of the research project "Scrutinizing the Accessibility of Taiwan for CSOs From Southeast Asia".

The central question of this research is: whether Taiwan, as a democracy adjacent to the ASEAN region, has the capacity to provide an inclusive 'alternative civic space' to accommodate the surge of asylum-seeking CSOs from Southeast Asia, so as to alleviate the challenge of closing civic space witnessed in Southeast Asia.

The study does not attempt to make broad generalizations about the situation of CSOs in Southeast Asia solely based on the experiences of seven specific organizations. Instead, the study is aimed at comprehending the strategies and thought processes these organizations employ to deal with their unique situations. This understanding is crucial in identifying the key factors that influence the decisions of Southeast Asian CSOs to relocate.

By assuming the responsibility to protect human rights defenders and allowing them to maintain momentum in practicing human rights and pursue justice, civil society in Taiwan will be able to further support the development of democracy and human rights in the region.

Read the Foreword of the report: https://www.acfa.tw/report-is-out/

Forum program

Topic: Exploring Taiwan's Role Amid the Crisis of Closing Civic Space in Southeast Asia
Date: August 22, 2023
Location: Taipei, Taiwan

Report launch session

Exploring Taiwan's Role Amid the Crisis of Closing Civic Space in Southeast Asia

Speakers/Presenters

Leah Lin, Executive Director and Founder, Asia Citizen Future Association
Doris Yang, Researcher, Asia Citizen Future Association

Commentators

Michael Caster, Asia Digital Program Manager, ARTICLE 19
Khoo, YH, Associate Professor and Department Head of International and Strategic Studies, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, Universiti Malaya
Wong, YK, Case Management and Campaign Coordinator, SUARAM
Chiu, Eeling, Executive Director, Amnesty International Taiwan

Panel 1

Enhance the Accessibility to Taiwan's Civic Space: Foreigners' Rights to Association in Taiwan

Moderator:

Leah Lin, Executive Director and Founder, Asia Citizen Future Association

Speakers:

Yi-Hsiang Shih, Secretary General, Taiwan Association for Human Rights
Trinh Huu Long, Co-founder and Co-director, Legal Initiatives for Vietnam
Karl Hsu, President of the director board, Covenants watch
Aleksandra Bielakowska, Taipei Advocacy officer, Reporters Without Borders (RSF)

Panel 2

Threats to Freedom of Association in Southeast Asia: Case in Malaysia, Cambodia, Singapore, Myanmar and the Philippines

Moderator: Chiu Eeling, Executive Director, Amnesty International Taiwan

Special Guest: Hung Sun-Han, Legislator of Taiwan

Speakers:

Wong Yen Ke, Case Management and Campaign Coordinator, SUARAM
Chhan Sokunthea, Acting Director, Cambodian Center for Independent Media
Catherine Lopez, Program Coordinator, Research and Policy Development
Khin Ohmar, Founder and Chairperson, Advisory Board, Progressive Voice Myanmar
Ryan Silverio, Executive Director, ASEAN SOGIE Caucus