ABSTRACT
This chapter determines the story of East Asian women's experience with democracy. It illustrates that the development of East Asian women's political rights has been informed by and responded to the waves of international feminist movement as well as the worldwide democratization process. The first wave of international women's movement coincided with the first wave of democratization. The variation of women's political representation among the three East Asian democracies, Japan, Taiwan, and South Korea, proves a strong case that women's political representation needs institutional support. In this liberalist picture of democratic practice, social identities are not important because difference is individually based just like the focus of freedom and rights are individual freedom and rights. The Democratic Progressive Party's presidential candidate, the aforementioned Tsai, has also publicly declared her support for marriage equality. For the relation between women and democracy or democratization, the chapter shows how the waves of democratization have been intertwined with the waves of international feminist movement.
