National Independence Movements & International Human Rights Law: Perspectives from Taiwan
Recent declarations of independence after referenda in Kurdistan and Cataluña have again confronted states with the question of right of self-determination of peoples. Since 1945 international law and treaties have supported the right of the people of Taiwan to an act of self- determination, while the realities of power have frustrated them. The Taiwanese case can form the basis for a wider discussion of international law and real politics.
Stephen Lee Sheng-hsiung李勝雄is Taiwan’s most prominent human rights lawyer, serving as defense in sensitive political cases since the Martial Law prosecutions of the Kaohsiung Incident in 1980, as well as initiating campaigns outside the court to end martial law, end the blacklisting of dissidents, and in support of Taiwan independence.
Discussant: Professor Craig Scott, Osgoode Hall Law School
All are welcome. Light lunch will be served.
This event is presented by the Jack & Mae Nathanson Centre at Osgoode Hall Law School and the York Centre for Asian Research with the Taiwanese Human Rights Association of Canada.