March 2017

Impending Conflict Between The DPP And Taiwanese Youth Activists Over The Cross-Straits Oversight Bill?

The possibility of conflict breaking out between Taiwanese youth activists and the DPP seems quite likely in the near future, with discussion of an oversight bill for cross-strait trade deals scheduled for late next week. But although the passage of such a bill was one of the significant demands of the Sunflower Movement, the DPP has stalled and even reversed course multiple times on the issue....

The Authoritarian We Could Not Pull Down: A Strange Tale of Pro-Independence Youth

In January 2017, the Free Taiwan Party posted a Facebook status: “Pro-Independence takes a stand! Come pull down the Chiang Kai Shek statue on February 28th at the Freedom Plaza!” As a young supporter of Free Taiwan Party and a supporter of the action of pulling down authoritarian statues, I documented and witnessed the actions on site during this time...

China’s Use Of America’s “War On Terror” To Justify The Suppression Of Its Muslim Population

Recent declarations by the Islamic State that it will target China in retaliation for its oppression of Uyghur Muslims in Xinjiang will probably only be met by further Chinese restrictions on the region. But China's responses are illustrative of to what extent China uses the discursive terms of America's War on Terror to justify its suppression of the Muslim majority Uyghur population in Xinjiang and other parts of China...