From Protest to Pioneer: Audrey Tang’s Journey from Sunflower Movement to Taiwanese Minister of Digital Affairs.

In 2014, Taiwan’s government had an approval rating of less than 10%, which led to the Sunflower Movement. This movement saw students occupy legislative buildings in protest of a trade deal with China. After three weeks, their demands were met, marking a turning point in Taiwanese democracy.

One group that emerged from the movement was g0v, a civic technology cooperative that included hacker Audrey Tang. Tang saw parallels between her life and democracy and joined the government in 2016 to implement her vision of radical transparency through vTaiwan, a virtual platform for democratic deliberation.

During the covid-19 pandemic in 2019, Tang played a crucial role as a cabinet member for digital affairs. By 2022, Taiwan was praised for its pandemic response, and Tang became the country’s first minister of digital affairs. In her book Plurality, she argues that Taiwan is now a thriving democracy that can teach the world valuable lessons about technology and governance.