Episode #282: The Revolution Will Be Steeped
"The experience of being between identities, between places, being connected to more than one place, makes it very easy for me to feel that the social causes of wherever I am are something that I should advocate for."
Our guest, Brian Hioe, describes how he came to embrace the life of an activist, and recounts the evolving, transnational solidarity networks across Asia.
Brian’s first experiences with activism came in high school, when he led a human rights club. This evolved into participating in movements such as Occupy Wall Street in 2011, Japan’s anti-nuclear protests in 2012, and Taiwan’s Sunflower Movement in 2014. His unique activist background—alternating between Taiwan and the U.S.—has since allowed him to connect with multiple movements, further shaping his perspective on human rights, social justice, and political advocacy.
Brian’s involvement in the Sunflower Movement, a landmark student-led protest in Taiwan, was a pivotal chapter in his activism journey. He was on the front lines and engaged in direct action, which included storming and occupying the legislature. The Sunflower Movement has been seen as a generational awakening for Taiwanese youth, challenging Taiwan’s increasing economic dependence on China.
Hoping to sustain the momentum of these events, Brian founded New Bloom Magazine in 2014, a progressive, bilingual platform that explores Taiwan’s social and political issues. It was designed, in part, to foster international awareness about Taiwan’s youth: what they were thinking about in terms of relations with China and democratic politics in their country.
Brian next addresses the historic and geopolitical connections between Taiwan and Myanmar, which can be traced back to the post-Chinese Civil War era, when many Chinese Nationalist fighters (the Kuomintang, or KMT), retreated to northern Burma after their defeat by the Chinese Communist Party. KMT fighters operated in northern Burma for years; while some eventually relocated to Taiwan, others remained behind, becoming deeply involved in Burma's burgeoning drug trade.
Coincidentally, Brian’s family is from Taipei's “Little Burma” district, a vibrant enclave of the Chinese-Burmese diaspora and migrant workers. Following the Myanmar coup, this neighborhood emerged as a hub of political solidarity, with its community organizing significant protests and demonstrations to support Myanmar's democratic aspirations.
Reflecting on these local events, Brian is struck by Taiwan’s own nuanced position in Southeast Asia. Taiwan’s diplomatic constraints and regional alliances, often shaped by its alignment with U.S. interests, contrast sharply with its desire to foster economic ties in Southeast Asia. Yet, many Southeast Asian nations, including Myanmar, have governments that lean toward China, often complicating Taiwan's ability to deepen regional relationships.
With these complex historical and political ties as a backdrop, Brian discusses the genesis of the Milk Tea Alliance (MTA). The MTA is a decentralized, online solidarity network that connects activists across Asia, initially from Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Thailand, and eventually evolving to include other regional nations like Myanmar. While skeptical, at first, of online activism, Brian came to appreciate the creativity and humor in the Milk Tea Alliance’s tactics.
To Brian, Myanmar’s inclusion in the Milk Tea Alliance reflects the network’s flexibility, adapting itself to any nation with a shared struggle against authoritarianism. At the same time, however, Myanmar represents a unique case, as the political turmoil has escalated into a country-wide conflict, severe repression, limited internet access, and heavy military control. This has challenged the Alliance’s usual protest tactics and sparked questions on how to effectively amplify Myanmar voices.
Brian has also observed that because authoritarian states often target centralized democratic leaders to weaken movements, the Milk Tea Alliance has adopted a leaderless, decentralized structure. This is also where internet culture comes into play, as it allows for rapid, cross-border collective action, including the sharing of protest tactics from Hong Kong to Myanmar.
In closing, Brian notes that the MTA may be becoming less relevant, and references Austin Wang’s recent research that tracks the decline of the Milk Tea Alliance hashtag. To Brian, this highlights the need for sustained engagement, even in the face of the MTA’s declining visibility.
“Myanmar is a very strong focal point, because it is the outlier, in some sense,” Brian says. “Myanmar joining the Milk Tea Alliance reflects the permeability of this framework, that basically, when there's a struggle, you can also be part of the Milk Tea Alliance. It's not exclusionary, but it is the one in which there was not just peaceful protests or student movements in forms of civil disobedience, but one that's spilled over into a civil war, and I think that is the difference. So the protest tactics that work in the other places, for example, will not work in Myanmar, because it is more oppressive.”
If you found this episode of interest, here are five related episodes you may want to check out:
Marc Batac shares how the Milk Tea Alliance has shaped current activism across Asia, as well as how the coalition responded to the Myanmar coup. Marc's journey as an activist illustrates the importance of both local grassroots efforts and broader regional networks in challenging authoritarianism and amplifying voices for democratic change.
Historian Kenton Clymer delves into the KMT's complex history in Burma after the Chinese Civil War, highlighting their prolonged influence in the region, including involvement in the burgeoning drug trade, and how it impacted relations between the US, China, Taiwan, and Myanmar.
Rahel and Damon Lim discuss their mural art project in Switzerland that weaves together Myanmar’s, Hong Kong’s, and others’ democratic struggles, emphasizing solidarity, resilience, and creative resistance against oppression Their work parallels the cross-border solidarity themes of the Milk Tea Alliance.
Patrick Winn dives deep into the historical impact of the Kuomintang (KMT) in Myanmar, exploring how these forces initially retreated to Burma and then became key players in the narcotics trade.
The “Revolution As Art” episode features various Burmese artists who share how they utilize their craft to protest against the military. This creative approach to activism aligns with Brian's themes of decentralized resistance and cultural exchange in the Milk Tea Alliance, showcasing art as a universal language of defiance against oppression.