President Lai Ching-te returned on Tuesday this week from a whirlwind trip to Eswatini. This occurred after Lai’s previous trip to Eswatini was cancelled due to Chinese pressure. Lai was scheduled to visit for King Mswati III’s 40th anniversary of accession to the throne, as well as his 58th birthday...
Nineteen people were killed in a massacre by the Philippine military after an alleged “encounter” began at four in the morning and did not end until three in the afternoon. The fighting reportedly ended at a fish pond where the bodies of RJ and a few other civilians were found—all of whom had bandoliers and guns planted on them right after (in an awkward position, by the way) to justify that they had all been combatants and therefore rightfully gunned down...
Public sector workers, civil servants, and unions of state-owned enterprises demonstrated in late April to call for an increase in pay. This included groups that traditionally are not allowed to have unions, in that public sector workers are not allowed to unionize. This has been a matter of controversy in past years, particularly after deaths of firefighters that led to calls for firefighters being allowed to unionize...
The political saga around TPP legislator Li Zhen-xiu, the first China-born legislator in contemporary times, came to a bizarre turn last month with Li’s expulsion from her party. As Li is a party list legislator, following expulsion from the TPP, that means that she will lose her status as a legislator...
Civil society groups held a press conference outside of the Ministry of the Interior on April 30th, protesting the ministry’s role in attempting to push Burmese out of Taiwan, even if this means forcing their return to a war zone. Among the groups involved in the press conference were the Asia Citizen Future Association, Taiwan Association for Human Rights, Taiwan Gongsheng Youth, Taiwan Labor Front, Taiwan International Workers’ Association, and Taiwan Alliance for Myanmar...
The largest digital rights convention in the world, RightsCon, has been abruptly cancelled. RightsCon, which is the largest international conference in the field of digital rights, was originally scheduled to take place in Zambia, as organized by Access Now. Over 3,000 participants from more than 150 countries were scheduled to attend...
Organized labor groups demonstrated on May 1st, commemorated as May Day or International Workers’ Day in different parts of the world. It is estimated that 6,000 were in attendance. What was most distinctive about the march this year was the inclusion of migrant labor unions, not only with their participation but also the incorporation of labor demands for migrant workers into the core demands of the demonstration. The march began at Ketagalan Boulevard in front of the Presidential Office Building, then proceeded to the Legislative Yuan. An action theater skit was held of workers taking hammers to individuals dressed as politicians...
KMT chair Cheng Li-wun has called for a meeting with US President Donald Trump. Such calls occurred shortly after Cheng’s meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping last month. A meeting between Trump and Xi is scheduled for this month. Cheng is herself scheduled to set off on a ten-day visit to the US in June...
Internal splits continue to occur in the KMT about the prospect of increasing defense spending. This occurs after the KMT had delayed review of the central government’s budget for over 220 days...
