Listening for justice: Reynol’s PhD journey at RegNet
Listening for justice: Reynol’s PhD journey at RegNet
Before commencing his PhD, Hsueh-Hung Cheng Reynol worked in Taiwan across law enforcement and restorative justice practice. He was a licensed restorative justice facilitator and also served as a police officer with the Taipei City Police Department. In these roles, he worked closely with victims, offenders, their families and communities of care, and justice professionals, often at moments of crisis.
“These experiences exposed both the limitations of punitive, enforcement-centred approaches and the subtle yet transformative ways that dialogue, accountability and relationship-repair were already taking place in practice. This background strongly shaped the questions I later brought into my doctoral research,” Reynol reflected.
Reynol’s interest in restorative justice first emerged during his undergraduate studies at the Central Police University in Taiwan, where he encountered the work of Distinguished Professor John Braithwaite. Professor Braithwaite’s scholarship introduced restorative justice as a serious intellectual and practical pathway to justice, leaving a lasting impression on how Reynol understood regulation, harm and healing.
When Reynol began exploring doctoral study, he wanted to develop his work in a way that remained empirically grounded and contextually sensitive. Through these conversations, he recognised Professor Miranda Forsyth as the ideal supervisor for his research.
“Her work on restorative justice, legal pluralism and responsiveness to people’s diverse justice needs offered both the intellectual rigour and ethical grounding I was seeking. I was also fortunate to be supported by a broader supervisory team and scholarly community at RegNet that consistently encouraged me to think critically, creatively and courageously,” he said.
Reynol’s thesis examined how restorative justice is understood and practised in Taiwanese juvenile justice, and what these experiences can contribute to broader restorative justice theory. Drawing on extensive fieldwork with people involved in harmful incidents and with justice practitioners, Reynol developed two complementary frameworks: a “ladder” to explain processes of personal and relational transformation, and a “mountain” to describe institutional pathways within a plural justice system that responds to diverse needs. These frameworks were informed by Taiwanese social and legal philosophy, particularly the concepts of Qing (情), Li (理) and Fa (法).
“I chose this topic because I observed both synergies and differences between restorative justice practices in Taiwan and those I encountered during my Honours research in Australia. I wanted my research to speak both back to practice and outward to theory, sharing Taiwanese experiences of justice with a broader international audience,” Reynol explained.
One of the most meaningful highlights of his PhD was conducting fieldwork and witnessing moments where deeply strained relationships began to shift.
They were not dramatic moments, but quiet and human ones. Seeing how small changes in dialogue, timing and facilitation could open space for reflection and repair reaffirmed why this work matters.
Life at RegNet at The Australian National University also shaped his journey. Engagement with world-leading scholars and fellow students created what Reynol describes as “an intellectually inspiring and supportive environment” that expanded how he thought about justice and regulation.
“RegNet trained me to think critically, reflexively and globally. I developed strong skills in ethically grounded research, theoretical development and communicating complex ideas to academic, policy and practitioner audiences. Just as importantly, RegNet cultivated a deep appreciation for intellectual humility and the value of collaboration,” he reflected.
These qualities will continue to shape his work as he moves into an academic role involving teaching, research translation and engagement with justice institutions across jurisdictions.
Reynol offers this advice to aspiring PhD candidates:
Remain curious about your own questions, open to diverse inputs and honest about your uncertainties. A PhD is not only about finding answers, but about learning how to sit with complexity, ambiguity and doubt. Finding communities that respect you as a thinker — not merely as a project — makes an enormous difference. And allow your research to change you.
Reflecting on his journey, Reynol expressed deep gratitude to his supervisors, research participants and the RegNet community.
“The PhD has been as much a personal transformation as an academic one, and I carry that learning forward with a strong sense of responsibility and hope.”