Sep 9 – International Symposium on Civil Society, Democratic Resilience, and National Security: Twenty Years After Taiwan’s Anti-Corruption Red Shirt Movement

Twenty years ago, a million people took to the streets peacefully and with restraint, demanding that political power be subject to moral scrutiny and democratic oversight. The Red Shirt Anti-Corruption Movement of 2006 was more than a large-scale civic mobilization. It also marked a chapter in Taiwan’s democratic history that cannot be overlooked.

Twenty years later, the global landscape is changing dramatically, and democratic institutions face mounting pressures from within and without.

Taiwan today must confront deeper and more urgent questions:

How can a free, open, and democratic society uphold the values we believe in?
And how can it defend the way of life we cherish?

Democracy, once won, is not ours forever; nor will freedom endure on its own in silence. Both require the continued vigilance of civil society, resilient democratic institutions, and a state capable of resisting threats.

On September 9, 2026, the Shih Ming Te Foundation will host theInternational Symposium on Civil Society, Democratic Resilience, and National Security: The 20th Anniversary of the Red Shirt Anti-Corruption Movement. Bringing together scholars and public policy leaders from Taiwan, the United States, and Australia, the symposium will engage participants in an in-depth dialogue across countries and generations, exploring history, political institutions, civil society, and international security.

Larry Diamond, an internationally renowned scholar of democracy and Senior Fellow at Stanford University’s Hoover Institution, will deliver the keynote address. Scholars from Taiwan and abroad will participate in the panel discussions, and Hung-mao Tien will chair the closing roundtable.

This symposium is not a retrospective on the events of twenty years ago. It is a serious inquiry into Taiwan’s future.

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