English

Radio New Bloom #21: Ethical Supply Chains and Labor Practices with Dr. Bonny Ling

newbloomeditor
For the twenty-first episode of Radio New Bloom, we present a recording of our event from last year on December 15, 2021 with Dr. Bonny Ling. The event discussed the crucial place that Taiwan plays in global supply chains, whether in terms of semiconductors—of which Taiwan produces over half the global supply—or its fishing fleet—with Taiwan’s distant water fishing fleet ranked as the second-largest in the world. Yet Taiwan's supply chains are highly dependent on migrant labor, as in the use of migrant fishermen on Taiwan’s near and distant waters fishing fleet, as well as migrant workers in factories for semiconductor manufacturing lines. The talk, then, sought to discuss the various levers possible to push for reform regarding this very pressing issue...
EnglishMay 2022Radio New Bloom0 min read

Permanent Residency Plan for Hongkongers Delayed Due to Backlash from Pan-Green Legislators

Brian Hioe
Backlash from pan-Green legislators has led the Mainland Affairs Council to suspend a plan to allow individuals from Hong Kong and Macau to obtain permanent residency in Taiwan after five years on a work permit. What the incident shows is the dynamics regarding perceptions of Hong Kong in Taiwan at present. Namely, as democratic freedoms continue to deteriorate in Hong Kong, it is increasingly possible that Taiwan simply comes to treat Hong Kong as part of China–and Hongkongers as Chinese. The issue continues to be contested over, with members of the pan-Green camp having not reached a consensus on the issue...
EnglishMay 2022Self-DeterminationSocial MovementsYouth Movements8 min read

Academic Petition Criticizes Bilingual 2030 Policy

Brian Hioe
There was some pushback from academics earlier this month against the Tsai administration’s Bilingual 2030 policy, with criticisms that English has been focused on at the expense of local languages. As such, a petition was launched by the Taiwan Languages and Literature Society earlier this month, quickly gaining 1,700 signatories. This includes 400 educators that teach on college campuses and 400 elementary and middle school teachers...
April 2022EnglishPolitics5 min read