After much tussling over the issue, Han Kuo-yu of the KMT has become the chair of the Taiwan Foundation for Democracy. The question of whether Han would become the chair of the foundation was raised ahead of time during the struggle between the DPP, KMT, and TPP about who would become president of the legislature, as part of the contention regarding the issue...
Two pedestrians were injured in Sanchong in February after a bus plowed into a crosswalk, following a dizzy spell by the driver. This is one of a number of incidents involving bus drivers passing out in past years. Usually, these stories, as reported on in the news, have two outcomes–one involving a tragedy that leads to loss of human life, or a miracle because the driver or passengers manage to park the vehicle safely...
Chinese president Xi Jinping met with former Taiwanese president Ma Ying-jeou today. This was the first time that Xi and Ma have met since 2015, when Ma was still president. The two met in Singapore in 2015, while today’s meeting took place in Beijing at the Great Hall of the People...
An incident involving the following of Taiwanese Vice President-elect Hsiao Bikhim’s motorcade by a vehicle driven by a Chinese military attache in Prague last week proves revealing. The Chinese military attache was following Hsiao in a vehicle, as a means of harassment, and was stopped by Czech police due to his following Hsiao’s motorcade...
Demonstrations took place in Taipei outside of the Legislative Yuan in late March over plans by the Tsai administration to roll back stiffened penalties for traffic violations. This took place as part of a series of flash mobs across Taiwan, including not only Taipei, but Hsinchu, Yunlin, Kaohsiung, Tainan, Taichung, and Taoyuan...
Polling recently released by the Professor Huang Kun-huei Education Foundation showed that 68.4% of those surveyed viewed “native” languages as in danger of disappearing. This referred to Taiwanese Hokkien, Hakka, and Indigenous languages. Moreover, only 37.2% of the surveyed viewed the Ministry of Education’s policies as effective in preserving native languages...
A 7.4 earthquake that struck Taiwan on Tuesday, proving to be the largest earthquake in 25 years. The earthquake struck at 7:58 AM. Though a tsunami warning was issued after the earthquake, this was withdrawn not too long after...
A hike in electricity prices that started on Monday will likely lead to another round of political contestation between the pan-Blue and pan-Green camps. In particular, the pan-Blue camp will probably try to redirect public anger regarding the price hikes to push for nuclear energy, in line with its energy platform...
Brian Hioe is one of the founding editors of New Bloom. He is a freelance journalist, as well as a translator. A New York native and Taiwanese-American, he has an MA in East Asian Languages and Cultures from Columbia University and graduated from New York University with majors in History, East Asian Studies, and English Literature. He was Democracy and Human Rights Service Fellow at the Taiwan Foundation for Democracy from 2017 to 2018 and is currently a Non-Resident Fellow at the University of Nottingham's Taiwan Studies Programme.
