INTRODUCTION: A REMARKABLE OCCURRENCE: PROGRESS FOR CIVIL SOCIETY IN AN "OPEN" MYANMAR

: A remarkable thing happened in Myanmar in the summer of 2013. A government that, in recent decades, enacted and carried out among the most draconian and repressive policies toward civil society organizations in the world sat down with a large, representative body of such organizations to hear criticisms of a recently passed law. Perhaps more remarkably, the government then revised the law in response to these criticisms, fundamentally altering the people's right to freely associate. This introductory piece to the Pacific Rim Law & Policy Journal's special edition devoted to Myanmar provides context for this seemingly remarkable occurrence. It demonstrates one important and hopeful occurrence in Myanmar's immense and ongoing reform effort. It is the author's hope that this occurrence is merely one example of many systemic reforms underway to address the myriad issues facing Myanmar and its people.