Brian Hioe

Two Days of Celebrations in Taiwan with Historic First Gay Marriages in Asia

Brian Hioe
Celebrations have taken place across Taiwan in the last two days, with Taiwan’s first gay marriages taking place yesterday after the passage of gay marriage into law last week, and a mass wedding banquet held today on Ketagalan Boulevard in front of the Presidential Office. As Taiwan is the first country to legalize gay marriage in Asia, these are the historic first gay marriages to take place in Asia... Read More
EnglishFeaturedGender/SexualityMay 2019Social Movements0 Comments 07 min read

“Fridays for Future” Protest Calling for Environmental Action Held Outside Legislative Yuan

Brian Hioe
An environmental demonstration organized by thirty environmental groups took place earlier this afternoon outside the Legislative Yuan. The demonstration proved highly visual, featuring a number of creative performances by artists. Notably, a large number of protest participants were children, as the event was framed as being part of the global “Fridays for Future” movement called for by high schooler climate activist Greta Thunberg... Read More
EnglishEnvironmentalMay 2019Social Movements0 Comments 06 min read

Joshua Wong Jailed Again in Hong Kong, Localist Activists Granted Asylum in Germany

Brian Hioe
The jailing of Umbrella Movement activist Joshua Wong seems likely to be another move by the Hong Kong government aimed at silencing political dissent, possibly as a warning for future protests. Likewise, news broke earlier this week that two localist activists, Ray Wong and Alan Li, are currently living in Germany after being granted political refugee status last May... Read More
EnglishFeaturedMay 2019Self-DeterminationSocial Movements0 Comments 06 min read

Lawsuits Against Taipower from KMT Mayors Are an Indirect Way to Attack Tsai Administration

Brian Hioe
In the past month, the Nantou city government has filed a lawsuit against the state-owned Taipower Corporation. This is on the grounds that air pollution from the coal-burning Taichung Power Plant is causing the high death rate from lung cancer in Nantou county. Interestingly, the Taichung city government has backed Nantou county’s lawsuit against the Taipower Corporation... Read More
EnglishEnvironmentalMay 2019Social Movements1 Comment 05 min read

Anger from Indigenous Activists After Protest Against Efforts to Protect Indigenous Territories

Brian Hioe
Over one thousand members of the Taiwan Association for the Rights of Non-Aboriginal Residents in Mountain Indigenous Townships protested against the Council of Indigenous Peoples’ efforts to protect indigenous traditional territories outside of the Executive Yuan and Council of Indigenous Peoples' yesterday. This has led to anger from indigenous activists... Read More
EnglishIndigenousMay 2019RaceSocial Movements0 Comments 05 min read
Brian Hioe

Brian Hioe

Editor

Brian Hioe was one of the founding editors of New Bloom. He is a freelance writer on social movements and politics, and occasional 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.

丘琦欣，創建破土的編輯之一，專於撰寫社會運動和政治的自由作家偶而亦從事翻譯工作。他是出生於紐約的台裔美人。他自哥倫比亞大學畢業，是亞洲語言及文化科系的碩士，同時擁有紐約大學的歷史，東亞研究及英文文學三項學士學位。