Brian Hioe

Talk Of ‘Africa Plan’ Not Likely To Prove Any More Successful Than New Southbound Policy

Following a five-day state visit to Swaziland by Tsai Ing-Wen last week, Tsai has called for creation of an “Africa plan” to develop stronger economic and political ties between Taiwan and Africa. One suspects that, much like the Tsai administration’s “New Southbound Policy”, this would also be with the aim of weaning Taiwan off of economic dependency on China. But one generally suspects that this would encounter many of the same challenges that the New Southbound Policy has. Furthermore, one must keep in mind that, like many of Taiwan's diplomatic allies, Swaziland is a country whose government has a questionable human rights record...

LGBTQ Groups Hold Rally As Start Of Campaign Against Anti-Marriage Equality Referendum

A demonstration was held by LGBTQ groups this morning to demonstrate the Central Election Commission passing a referendum pushed for by anti-gay groups. The referendum seeks to overturn a judicial ruling in favor of the legalization of marriage equality in Taiwan by the Council of Grand Justices last year. In particular, the demonstration serves as the start of what will necessarily be a longer campaign by LGBTQ groups...

Interview: Ed Lin

In March, New Bloom editor Brian Hioe interviewed Taiwanese-American author Ed Lin regarding his work by e-mail. Ed Lin is the author of Ghost Month, One Red Bastard, Snakes Can't Run, and other novels, as well as the first author to win three Asian-American Literary Awards...

TPP Reversal A Sign Of Incoherency, Not Grand Mastery Of Negotiation By Trump

Reports that Donald Trump intends to reverse course on the TPP are vaguely humorous. Namely, withdrawing from the agreement was not only a key campaign promise of Trump’s but literally one of Trump’s first actions in office. But there will no doubt be those that claim that the Trump administration's reversal is the Trump administration engaging in high-risk negotiation tactics rather than simple incoherency...

Sun An-Tso Case Strikes A Nerve In Society

The Sun An-Tso case has been one that Taiwanese media, hungry as it always is for gossip and sensational news, has seized upon. At stake in the case would be a number of issues, including Sun’s celebrity parents, the issue of gun control in the United States, Taiwan's relation to the US, and similar cases in Taiwan in recent years...
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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。