Susan Marx

On July 22, Timorese will once again cast their vote in the country’s fourth parliamentary election since independence from Indonesia in 1999. With the March presidential election now almost a distant memory, all eyes are on the hotly contested parliamentary election. It is interesting to note that despite all the news and controversy surround… Read more

On June 9, The Asia Foundation marked its 25th anniversary in Timor-Leste with a special celebration, including dance and musical performances, a food and art fair, and special tributes by local and international dignitaries, including the Australian Ambassador to Timor-Leste and the Commander for Community-Oriented Policing of the National Police… Read more

The Asia Foundation celebrates 25 years of dedicated work in Timor-Leste. Since 1992, the Foundation has worked alongside partners in the government, civil society, media, academia, and community groups to achieve the ambitious goals of this great country.

Politics in Timor-Leste is always engaging and colorful, and the lead-up to the 2017 presidential election on March 20 is no exception. With campaigning in full swing, the Timorese variety of consensus politics is on full display. It is a common site these days to see campaign event-bound trucks loaded with supporters of two former opposition parti… Read more

6:30 pm – 7:45 pm Registration begins at 6:00 pm World Affairs Auditorium 312 Sutter Street, Suite 200 San Francisco, CA A new spirit of advocacy to elevate women’s political voice—as voters, candidates, and leaders—is being felt worldwide, and especially so across Asia. With a number of elections taking place in 2017 in the region, women’s leaders… Read more

“From its ruggedly beautiful landscapes to its centuries-old traditions, Timor-Leste offers one of the world’s last great off-the-beaten-track adventures,” begins Lonely Planet’s description of Asia’s youngest country, which fought to gain independence from Indonesia 14 years ago. The description is indisputable, but so too are the Southeast Asian… Read more

While Japanese prime ministers in recent history have done so with unusual regularity, to voluntarily relinquish the post of prime minister anywhere in the world remains an unusual transition strategy. Yet, this is precisely what occurred in Timor-Leste…

In a dramatic challenge to the principles of democracy, on Friday night, the parliament of Timor-Leste decided in a closed session to fire all foreign judges and advisers in its justice system. The National Parliament passed Resolution No. 11/2014, calling on the government to audit the justice sector…

Google “newest democracy” and you are likely to find the young island nation of Timor-Leste among the top hits. Do the same for “media censorship,” however, and the top results are of nations not exactly known for promoting democratic values such as Russia and China. However, right now, Timor-Leste’s national parliament…

As International Literacy Day approaches, the matter of literacy remains an enormous challenge around the world, including in Asia’s youngest nation, Timor-Leste. Amid the competing development agendas for this democratizing, fast-developing, and oil-rich nation, education, and literacy in particular, too often falls by the wayside.

Nearly 19 years after the establishment of the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) at the 26th ASEAN Ministerial Meeting in Singapore in July 1993, the ARF just embarked on its first concrete elections mission, to observe the July 7 parliamentary elections in Timor-Leste.

Presidential and parliamentary

For the past few months, the capital of Timor-Leste, Dili, and indeed many parts of the rest of the tiny island nation, have experienced an increase in a particular kind of traffic. For the second-time, avid mountain bikers took to the streets in preparation for the 500-kilometer “Tour de Timor” mountain biking event from September 13-17. That the… Read more