Trade tensions continue between Taiwan and China in the wake of China’s grouper ban last month. China moved to ban Taiwanese grouper, claiming that it had found oxytetracycline and other prohibited chemicals in excessive amounts in grouper imports from Taiwan. For its part, the Taiwanese government has denied this, calling on China to provide proof for its claims...
The shooting death of former Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe drew international headlines yesterday. The incident took place while Abe was on the campaign trail in Nara, Japan, with much disinformation, misinformation, and rampant speculation in the wake of the incident. It may not be surprising to note that views in Taiwan of Abe have been rosy, turning a blind eye to his right-wing historical revisionism, nostalgia for Japanese empire, and actions seen as authoritarian in a Japanese context...
Three serving legislators and a former legislator were found guilty on corruption charges by the Taiwan Taipei District Court earlier this week. The case serves as a reminder of the deeply-rooted nature of corruption charges in Taiwan, as well as how such charges can cut across party lines ...
Hsinchu city mayor Lin Chih-chien was accused by the KMT of plagiarism earlier this week. Lin, who is a DPP politician that won in Hsinchu in 2014, is running as the DPP’s candidate for Taoyuan mayor in elections later this fall...
Hong Kong has a new political leader, with John Lee sworn into office on July 1st, which also marks the anniversary of the 1997 Handover of Hong Kong from British control to Chinese control. Marking the importance of the occasion, no less than Chinese president Xi Jinping visited Hong Kong for Lee’s swearing-in ceremony. This was Xi’s first trip outside of the Chinese mainland since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic...
With the election victory of Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr., in the Philippines in May, one can interpret this as a victory for authoritarian nostalgia. Namely, Marcos is the son of former dictator Ferdinand Marcos Sr., who ruled the Philippines with an iron first from 1965 to 1986...
The Taichung city government has made moves to rein in air pollution, with new regulations targeting steel mills having been submitted to the Environmental Protection Agency for review by Taichung’s Environmental Protection Bureau. The Taichung city government touts such restrictions as the strictest in the country and hopes that they will take effect before the end of this year...
The prospect of electricity hikes has become a contested political issue. An average increase of 8.4% and 15% for large industrial electricity users was announced by the Ministry of Economic Affairs on Monday...
Recent comments by Icyang Parod, the head of the Council of Indigenous Peoples, took a stance against legally recognizing Pingpu peoples currently seeking recognition as Indigenous. The comments took place in the context of a hearing by the Constitutional Court to hear arguments on the recognition of the Siraya people, which took place on Tuesday. The hearing involved the Constitutional Court hearing arguments from the Council of Indigenous Peoples, the Tainan city government, and the National Human Rights Commission, which is part of the Control Yuan. The Constitutional Court will make an announcement of its date to publicize its decision on the issue one month from now...
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.