Brian Hioe
Facebook Glitch Banning Political Content Last Week Prompts Censorship Fears
Concerns regarding the role social media could potentially play in next year’s presidential elections have been flagged in a number of incidents. Last week, Mirror Media, Newtalk, Storm Media, and Up Media suddenly found themselves prevented from making posts on social media, and Facebook users found themselves unable to post content critical of the Chinese government or on Taiwanese social issues, such as LGBTQ issues...
Indigenous Occupation Calling for Return of Traditional Territories Reaches 1,000th Day
The Tsai administration's lack of action on issues facing indigenous, unfortunately, continues to be an issue that goes without major discussion. This was highlighted yesterday, which was the 1,000th day of the indigenous occupation maintained by indigenous singer-songwriter Panai Kusui, her spouse and fellow singer-songwriter Nabu Husungan, and filmmaker Mayaw Biho regarding the Tsai administration’s failure to return traditional indigenous territories. However, the anniversary was marked by little fanfare...
Demonstrators Trapped at Hong Kong Polytechnic University For Over 48 Hours Now
Demonstrators have now been trapped within the Hong Kong Polytechnic University, surrounded by police and with exits to the university sealed, for over 48 hours now. Those still trapped in the university face the threat of eventually running out of supplies, such as food and water. It is also thought that many of those remaining are injured after weathering many hours of police assaults...
Hundreds Remain Trapped on Hong Kong Polytechnic University as Police Siege Continues
Demonstrators continue to be trapped in the Hong Kong Polytechnic University, with police still refusing to allow hundreds of demonstrators to leave the university. It is thought that there are five hundred to six hundred individuals still trapped at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University. 60% to 70% are thought to be students from the university and reportedly, some of those trapped inside on the campus are as young as 11 or 12 years old...
Fears Run High After Police Seal Off Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Threaten Lethal Force
Tensions run high in Hong Kong tonight, with police having completely surrounded the Hong Kong Polytechnic University and sealed off all exits. However, students, protestors, and reporters are all among those trapped inside, with some believing that the police intend to escalate its ongoing siege of the university to the level of deadly force...
Tsai’s Tweets on the APEC Cancellation in Chile Prove Questionable
A Tweet several weeks ago by Taiwanese president Tsai Ing-wen on the cancellation of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation summit that was originally scheduled to take place in Santiago, Chile strikes as not only tone-deaf but illustrative of a consistent pattern of behavior by the Taiwanese government...
Hong Kong Demonstrators Prepare for University Siege in the Wake of Deaths Linked to Police Violence
Many anticipate an escalation in the situation in Hong Kong over the weekend, following the police siege on the Chinese University of Hong Kong earlier this week. Following the raid, protestors have begun fortifying the area around the university. The past few days have also seen two deaths thought to be the result of police actions, including the death of a thirty-year-old man and a seventy-year-old man...
Party List Candidates from the KMT, DPP, NPP Announced
The party lists of the KMT, DPP, and NPP, consisting of the candidates who are on the list for proportional voting for parties, were announced in the last week. The party lists are revealing of the current ideologies guiding the major political parties currently represented in the Taiwanese legislature...
Dismissal of Formosa Plastics Lawsuit is Appalling for Taiwan’s Human Rights Record
The decision of the Taipei District Court in mid-October to dismiss a lawsuit filed by close to 8,000 Vietnamese fishermen against Taiwanese company Formosa Plastics claim proves an appalling move where Taiwan’s international human rights record is concerned. The ruling was handed down on October 14th...
Brian Hioe
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.
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。