Prof. H. H. Michael Hsiao is the Chairman of both Taiwan-Asia Exchange Foundation and the Center for Southeast Asian Studies at National Chengchi University. He is also the Adjunct Research Fellow of the Institute of Sociology, Academia Sinica; Chair Professor of Hakka Studies, National Central University and Honorary Chair Professor of Southeast Asian Studies, National Chi- Nan International University. Internationally, he is the Chairman of the Consortium of Southeast Asian Studies in Asia, Executive Committee Member of the Consortium of Global Hakka Studies. He served as National Policy Advisor to the President of Taiwan between 1996 and 2006 and is currently Senior Advisor to the President of Taiwan since 2016.  His areas of specialization include middle-class economic development, civil society and democratization in Asia, environmental movements, sustainability and risk society, and comparative Hakka studies in Taiwan and Southeast Asia.