Girard Mariano Lopez

Dark Indonesia: The New Student Movement Stirring in Southeast Asia

Girard Mariano Lopez
Thousands of Indonesian students across the country are taking to the streets protesting the current Prabowo administration. This comes as the controversial former military general reaches five months in office, with great dissatisfaction with the current political situation across the country. Various issues from police reform, a 3-kg LPG controversy, mining licenses, land clearing in West Papua, and a re-evaluation of Prabowo’s ‘fat ministry’ are riveting the nation–but at the heart of public anger is the “budget efficiency policy” of Prabowo...
EnglishFebruary 2025Social MovementsYouth Movements5 min read

Taipei Holds Vigil, Rally Commemorating One Year of Genocide in Gaza

Girard Mariano Lopez
Local and international community members across Taipei gathered on Sunday at Liberty Square in Chiang Kai Shek Memorial Hall to commemorate the 42,000 Palestinian lives that have been murdered by Israeli offensives in the past year, as well as the hundreds recently killed in recent Israeli airstrikes across Lebanon. On the morning of October 7th, organizers from the Taiwan Alliance for a Free Palestine also held a flash mob outside of the Israeli Economic and Cultural Office in Taipei in the World Trade Center...
EnglishOctober 2024Self-DeterminationSocial MovementsYouth Movements5 min read

Why is Bangladesh Protesting in the Tens of Thousands While Facing Grave State Violence?

Girard Mariano Lopez
In the past week, Bangladeshi youth took to the streets in the tens of thousands against a “jobs quota law”. The law was criticized as a system that favors public sector jobs to allies of the ruling party. However, the government responded harshly against the protests—deploying military forces to universities, imposing curfews, and shutting down both the internet and media, effectively cutting off 170 million people from the outside world. More than 150 are said to have been killed by police, with thousands injured...
EnglishJuly 2024Social MovementsYouth Movements6 min read

One Thousand March in Taipei Calling For End To Broker System

Girard Mariano Lopez
During International Human Rights Day on December 10th, an estimated one thousand migrant workers from Southeast Asia together with Taiwanese labor and human rights activists marched on the streets of Taipei for the second biannual migrant worker rally with the theme “No Justice in Cross-Border Employment, Where is the Responsibility of the Government?”. The protest was to call for the abolishment of the private broker system and direct government to government hiring between Taiwan and the nation of origin, as well as strengthened public services for migrant workers especially for those that face abuse from employers...
December 2023EnglishLaborSocial Movements7 min read

Inside the 2022 Philippine Elections in Taiwan

Girard Mariano Lopez
The Philippines has officially elected the former dictator’s family, Marcos, back into the presidency, specifically, Ferdinand Marcos Jr. or known as Bongbong Marcos, as well as the incumbent president’s daughter, Sara Duterte as vice president. Though election day in the Philippines was fraught with countless cases of violence, voter disenfranchisement, vote buying, machine “errors”, electioneering, military intimidation and various more instances that challenge claims of a “clean and fair elections”, the landslide victory of Marcos and Sara Duterte in Taiwan was won fairly via a peaceful and incident free month-long voting process. I should know–I was part of the poll-watcher group at the Manila Economic and Cultural Office in Taipei for the largest opposition candidate, specifically, Leni Robredo and her running mate, Kiko Pangilinan...
EnglishMay 2022Politics8 min read
Avatar photo

Girard Mariano Lopez

Girard Mariano Lopez is a first year Filipino undergraduate at National Chengchi University, and a volunteer at various human rights and civic organizations in the Philippines and Taiwan.