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Today we introduce you to lawyer Robin J. Winkler, who has called Taiwan home for nearly four decades. Beyond his dedication to environmental causes and legal reform, Winkler also ventured into entrepreneurship by co-founding a restaurant. FTV reporter Stephany Yang sat down with him to explore his passions and the journey that brought him here.

Not long after settling in Taiwan, Winkler established the Wild at Heart Legal Defense Association, a nonprofit devoted to ecological and environmental protection. Aside from environmentalism, he also co-founded Winkler Partners in 2002. The law firm is the first Taiwanese law firm to form a partnership with foreign attorneys.

Robin J. Winkler
Lawyer and environmentalist
I am a lawyer and I do mostly environmental related law right now through an organization called Wild at Heart Legal Defense Association. I founded a couple of law firms in Taiwan. One that still continues to operate today is called Winkler Partners. I came here originally in 1977 after graduating from university in Sinology and Asian Studies, with a focus on China and Chinese language and culture. At that time, Taiwan was the place to come for advanced studies. I came here and I really liked the place and kept coming back. Finally, I graduated from law school in 1982 or 1983. I can’t remember but I then came back and have been in Taiwan ever since.

Among the causes he champions is the survival of the Taiwanese pink dolphin, a critically endangered subspecies of humpback dolphin found only along Taiwan’s west coast. With fewer than 100 dolphins left, they are considered one of the world’s most endangered cetaceans. Winkler has become a prominent voice in safeguarding their future.

Robin J. Winkler
Lawyer and environmentalist
The conservation of the Taiwanese Pink Dolphins, which resides along our west coast from about Taoyuan down to Tainan. It is critically endangered according to the International Union for the Conservation of Nature. The numbers are declining, and it faces threats from pollution, loss of habitat, and fishing, as well as fishnet entanglements.

Winkler, alongside his partners, also founded a restaurant. The restaurant has earned numerous awards for its commitment to sustainability and innovation. Its mission is to support the land, empower farmers, and contribute to a more sustainable future.

Robin J. Winkler
Lawyer and environmentalist
A platform for Taiwan’s diversity, small farmers, and land issues, so it was meant to be sort of a an activist restaurant.

In 2003, he gave up his US citizenship to become a naturalized Taiwanese, in hopes of carrying out environmental and legal activities in Taiwan. For nearly four decades, Winkler has been a prominent figure in both law and activism, bridging international perspectives with local issues.

Robin J. Winkler
Lawyer and environmentalist
Working a lot on natural gas projects and energy-related initiatives, including solar and wind energy, because their sighting is often not ideal. Those will definitely continue. New projects. My own interest is really in social enterprises. I think the environmental and social justice movement needs to find a way to fund itself other than through donations or accepting projects from government agencies.

His new goals include blending environmental activism with social entrepreneurship. He is not only focused on energy projects like solar and wind but also on building sustainable enterprises.

Mon to Fri at 9:30 pm on Channel 152
Tue to Sat at 1 am on Channel 53

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