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Huang Kuo-shu Controversy Reveals Issues of Complicity, Collaboration During Authoritarian Times

DPP legislator Huang Kuo-shu announced that he would be withdrawing from the party and not pursuing reelection in 2024 earlier this week after the Liberty Times reported that he had served as an informant during the KMT during authoritarian times. According to the report, Huang was involved in spying on fellow students who were involved in political dissidence in university...

Arrest Calls Attention to Issue of “Deepfake” Videos in Taiwan

The issue of "deepfakes" has been widely discussed in Taiwan after YouTuber "Xiao Yu" was found to be responsible for a Telegram group used to sell, commission, and circulate "deepfake" porn videos of women, who were mostly public figures. Xiao Yu, whose real name is Zhu Yu-chen, was subsequently taken into custody. Xiao Yu is primarily known for humor videos, though some of his viral stunts have caused controversy in the past...

Calls for Punitive Treatment of the Mentally Ill After Violent Incidents Prove Unsurprising

Taiwan's Ministry of Health and Welfare has made a name for itself in past years through its firmly progressive political stances. This has been demonstrated in public service announcements calling for respecting freedom of gender expression, particularly from the young, and calls for migrant workers to be able to undergo COVID-19 screenings without having their working papers checked, something that might discourage undocumented workers from visiting hospitals...

China Leverages on Taiwan’s Reputation for Dollar Diplomacy in Somaliland Criticisms

In the past week, the Chinese government has sought to tar Taiwan’s efforts to build stronger diplomatic relations with Somaliland, with state-run tabloid Global Times alleging that the Taiwanese government is paying off politicians in Somaliland in return for diplomatic recognition. Such claims, which have been denied by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, draw on Taiwan’s reputation for “dollar diplomacy” ...