Brian Hioe

Surprising Few, Chen Chi-mai Wins Kaohsiung Mayoral By-Election with Large Lead Over Opponents

Brian Hioe
It took few by surprise that Chen Chi-mai of the DPP was the winner of the Kaohsiung mayoral by-election today. Chen won by large margins, winning 70% of the vote, and defeating KMT candidate Jane Lee and TPP candidate Wu Yi-jheng. The by-election was the first by-election to replace a mayor who had been recalled from office in Taiwanese history... Read More
August 2020EnglishFeaturedPolitics0 Comments 010 min read

Comments by Ko at the TPP Congress Seek to Attack Tsai, While Appealing to Pan-Green Voters

Brian Hioe
Comments by Taipei mayor Ko Wen-je at the TPP's first national congress last week are telling about the current political orientation of the party, as well as the challenges it faces going forward. Ko raised eyebrows by calling for a ‘Silent Revolution” in Taiwanese politics at the party congress, a pointed criticism of the Tsai administration indicative of the party’s pan-Blue leanings. At the same time, Ko did not lean as heavily into pan-Blue rhetoric as much as he did during the TPP’s founding one year ago... Read More
August 2020EnglishPolitics0 Comments 09 min read

Apple Daily Arrests, Raid Likely Intended to Have a Chilling Effect in Hong Kong’s Media Environment

Brian Hioe
Jimmy Lai, the owner of the Apple Daily and Next Digital, was arrested today under the provisions of the Hong Kong national security law. Lai’s two sons and at least seven other senior staff members were also taken into custody on various charges. Shortly after Lai's arrest, which took place at 7 AM, over two hundred police were mobilized to search the Apple Daily and Next Digital's offices at 10 AM... Read More
August 2020EnglishFeaturedSelf-DeterminationSocial MovementsYouth Movements0 Comments 08 min read

Despite Azar Visit, America is Unlikely to Learn from Taiwan’s Experiences Fighting COVID-19

Brian Hioe
News that American Secretary of Health and Human Services Alex Azar plans to visit Taiwan as part of a diplomatic visit in the near future is ironic, given America’s disastrous handling of the COVID-19 pandemic. While Azar’s visit to Taiwan will be conducted under the auspices of seeking to learn from Taiwan’s successes fighting off the COVID-19 pandemic, one generally expects this to be primarily political theater... Read More
August 2020EnglishPolitics0 Comments 010 min read
Brian Hioe

Brian Hioe

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

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。