Taiwan Church News 3826 Edition June 23 ~ 29, 2025 Weekly Topical From No-Engagement Bystander to Lady Defence Power, Women Stand Up for Taiwan Democracy Reported by Lin Yi-ying from New Taipei City Responding to the announcement of Central Election Commission that the first recall voting of lawmakers is set on July 26, 2025, the second workshop of Better Shuanghe Fine Arts Events, organized by New Taipei Shuanghe Citizens’ Participation Association, was held at the Shuang-He church of Taipei presbytery in the afternoon on June 21. Many members of the “Lady Defence Power” were invited to share in the workshop, including Dr Yan Wen-hsin, a dentist, Lawyer Yan Hsin-ying, editor of facebook website of “linzoumaattorney”, Ms Zeng Yi-ning, an LDP volunteer, and Ms Apple (pseudo name). In the meeting, many concurred that the reasons, why 80% of volunteers amid current recall movement across Taiwan go to women, are that these women hope to exert their gentle an resilient strength, do practical actions to protect freedom and democracy of Taiwan, and forge a better family and country for the next generation. Dr Yan said that the project of “Lady Defence Power” was composed of a group of women from all walks of lives, who cared about Taiwan democratic development more than two years ago. They devoted themselves to movements, such as the Blue Bird Action and the Joint Recall, encouraging Taiwanese women to protect the country. She observed that Taiwanese media’s concerns about women’s political participation has changed from “whether their husbands or family support their engagement” in the past decades to an inquiry into political ideals or thoughts that focuses on women themselves. “This media transition shows that Taiwan’s democratic society carries on making progress,” she said. Lawyer Yan Hsin-ying shared her legal experiences, from assisting people arrested for street protests to serving as a volunteer lawyers for those maliciously sued by pro-China media. She encouraged the people who spoke out for Taiwan not to be fearful of legal fight in court, as these are legal rights and common tactics of the adversaries. As long as the words and deeds of pro-Taiwan compatriots comply with legal bounds, many lawyers are willing to come to rescue, she said. Ms Apple, who was born and raised up in Chonghe, frankly said that she was a common house-wife after marriage and very indifferent to politics. Because she saw that Legislator Lin De-fu, a seven-term KMT lawmaker, had not only done little to benefit local communities, yet repeatedly proposed bills that seriously harmed national security in the congress, she decided to stand up as a recall volunteer to do something good to her hometown. Ms Zeng Yi-ning, a volunteer of the Hsin-Tien recall group, said that she wanted to speak out her children so that they could grow up in a democratic and free Taiwan. During the interview, Dr Yan Wen-Hsin, Lawyer Yan Hsin-ying, Ms Zeng Yi-ning and Ms Apple, all expressed excitedly that the project of “Lady Defence Power”, though initiated by a group of women via facebook websites, gathered a collective strength of many Taiwanese women. In addition, they wished to play their individual role in the workplace and at home in order to exert a positive influence across Taiwan society. Mr Chu Yo-Hsin (aka Jutoupi), leader of Yonghe Group under Better Shuanghe Joint Recall, announced that New Taipei Shuanghe Citizens’ Participation Association will also hold several gatherings: On June 26, there will be a special session for the director of the documentary “Democracy, in Practice”; from 2:00 pm to 4:00 pm on June 28, there will be a special lecture jointly hosted by Mr Feng Guang-yuan(aka Neil Peng), Ms Gu Bi-ling and Mr Hong Guo-jun. Welcome to join these great events! Translated by Peter Wolfe |