The Taiwan Studies Programme (TSP) and Centre for the Study of Social and Global Justice (CSSGJ) is delighted a to announce a seminar by Chiu Yu-bin/邱毓斌 an associate professor at the Department of Social Development at National Pingtung University in Taiwan discussing New Youth Labour Activism in Taiwan after 2014 Sunflower Movement

Speakers abstract 

The Sunflower Movement in which young activists occupied the Legislative Yuan for 24 days not only changed Taiwan’s political contour since then, but also politicised more young people in many respects. This research focuses on the development of new youth activism in the labour union movement after the Sunflower Movement. The campaigning and organising strategies of this new youth activism did bring fresh momentum in the labour movement. But the youth activism and old, large trade unions to a certain extent came into conflicts in the recent struggle against the neo-liberal reform of Labour Standard Act conducted by the DPP government. Finally, the challenges of the new youth activism and the future of trade union movement in Taiwan will be discussed.  

Speakers biography

Chiu Yu-bin/邱毓斌 is an associate professor at the Department of Social Development at National Pingtung University in Taiwan and has a PhD in sociology from Essex University. Prior to his academic career, he was a union organizer and served as the first general secretary of the Taiwan Confederation of Trade Unions (2000–01). He was also the founding member of the Taiwan Tertiary Education Union in 2012 and has served as a union representative since. His research interests focus on comparative labour movements, social movements and NGOs in new democracies.