Kuo-ming Lin, receiving a Ph.D. in Sociology from Yale University, is professor and chair of Sociology Department at National Taiwan University. His primary teaching interests are political sociology, contemporary theories of democracy, social and health policy, and historical sociology. His past research focused on Taiwan’s health politics and civic deliberation. A pioneer in promoting the practice of deliberative democracy in Taiwan, he has organized more than thirty events of citizen deliberation sponsored by central and local governments. He recently helped the Ministry of Culture and Taipei City Government to design and implement participatory budgeting projects. Kuo-ming Lin is writing a book on the relationships of civil society to the practice of deliberative democracy in Taiwan.