Democracy Stands

The path to democracy is not easy. It entails hardships, challenges and failures. But one thing that is remarkable for liberals and democrats around Asia is that they always withstand all of these. This democratic grit is highlighted in CALD’s latest Annual Report entitled, “Democracy Rising.”

“The Economist Intelligence Unit recently came up with a report describing 2019 as ‘a year of democratic setbacks.’ While this may be true globally, Asia has notable developments in the past year that give us, liberals and democrats, enough reason to be hopeful about the future,” said CALD Chairperson Bi-khim Hsiao in her message. She remained optimistic that democracy will find its way in Asia and the rest of the world.

The Annual Report showcases CALD’s activities in the previous year. In CALD’s election mission in Indonesia, the participants were able to learn the best campaign practices and strategies that they could use for their respective elections. In South Korea and Taiwan, they learned about smart cities and produced CALD’s very own smart city assessment tool. The hackathon in Thailand challenged the youth to think of a project that strengthens youth participation in politics and civic education. In a workshop in Malaysia, liberal women leaders were challenged to enhance their public communication skills. CALD members were also able to identify how to use technology for citizen empowerment in Taiwan, apart from discussing the very timely issue of disinformation.

Moreover, the Report features CALD’s very first smart city initiative to build a better future. It also highlights CALD’s solidarity with Hong Kong and Cambodia’s fight for democracy.

The speech of Abhisit Vejjajiva is also included in the Annual Report, together with Chito Gascon’s “Pounding the Rock,” Beng Climaco’s “Surviving a Siege,” Joko Widodo’s inaugural speech and Emily Lau’s acceptance letter as CALD’s 4^th individual member.

To read the CALD 2019 Annual Report, click here.