ABSTRACT
This introduction presents an overview of the concepts covered in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book offers a picture of the development and diversity of Taiwanese civil society, by examining social movement case studies in the post-2008 period. It focuses at four long-term social movements that emerged prior to the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP)'s, time in power and have featured quite different development trajectories after 2008. The book examines a social movement that is often regarded as the most successful, the women's movement. It reveals that social movements in the post-2008 period have had a remarkable sensitizing impact by not only placing neglected issues on the public agenda but also influencing public opinion. The book shows how movements took advantage of the changing political environment or political opportunity structure to explain their impacts. It describes that the dissatisfaction, distrust of the DPP, along with its seeming inability to constrain the Kuomintang (KMT), provided further motivation to social activists.
