Milk Tea and Democracy #2

I have begun investigating the growth of the Milk Tea Alliance (#MilkTeaAlliance), a youth-led pan-Asian pro-democracy movement in Southeast Asian countries. This movement now includes ten countries. It started as an alliance between youth democracy movements in Thailand and Taiwan, was joined by the movement in Hong Kong, then Myanmar, Indonesia, Malaysia, India, Viet Nam, Tibet and the Philippines.

This video by CNA, a pan-Asian news media outlet based in Singapore, provides a background and history of the movement.

I am working with Buddhist scholar Brian Victoria on a podcast series called “Milk Tea and Democracy,” our first project for the Engage! podcast. I am interested in the implications of this pro-democracy movement for Buddhism in Southeast Asia, the possibility that this movement could transform the culture of counties that have large and even majority Buddhist populations. Stay tuned.