Hundreds Gather in Daan Park for Taipei Peace Rally for Palestine

Girard Mariano Lopez

Hou and Ko Register Separate Runs, Gou Withdraws From Election

Brian Hioe

Pan-Blue Unity Ticket Dissolves Spectacularly with Televised Spat Between Candidates

Brian Hioe

Hou You-yi Emphasizes Chinese Culture in Cultural Policy Stances

Brian Hioe

Politics

TPP and KMT Joint Presidential Ticket off Again, Though Ko Claims to Be Still Open to Negotiating

Brian Hioe
Despite much expectation that the joint ticket between the TPP and KMT would be announced this morning, with it announced who would be the presidential candidate between TPP chair and presidential candidate Ko Wen-je and KMT candidate Han Kuo-yu at aa press conference scheduled for 10 AM, Ko Wen-je has now pulled out of the alliance. That being said, Ko stated that talks will continue between the two parties...
EnglishFeaturedNovember 2023Politics7 min read

China Threatens to End ECFA Ahead of Elections

Brian Hioe
Ahead of elections, China has threatened to end the Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement that dates from the time of the Ma administration. In particular, China claims that Taiwan is currently violating the terms of the agreement under the Tsai administration by continuing to maintain trade barriers on some Chinese goods, while also alleging that the Tsai administration has increased the number of Chinese goods blocked from entering Taiwan...
Cross StraitEnglishInternationalNovember 2023Politics5 min read

“The Taiwanese People Should Stand With the People of Swaziland”: A Conversation with Tanele Maseko

Brian Hioe
New Bloom editor Brian Hioe interviewed Tanele Maseko, human rights defender from Swaziland and the wife of Thulani Maseko. Thulani Maseko, an opposition politician and human rights lawyer, was killed by unidentified gunman in January of this year. As this took place after comments by Swazi monarch King Mswati III suggesting that critics of his should be killed, it is thought that this killing was ordered by the monarch. Tanele Maseko was visiting Taipei for the Oslo Freedom Forum on October 18th. Despite the questionable human rights record of Swaziland, which was renamed Eswatini by Mswati III in April 2018, it is one of Taiwan's diplomatic allies. Taiwanese president Tsai Ing-wen most recently visited Eswatini this September. ...
EnglishFeaturedNovember 2023Politics11 min read

Possible TPP Candidate Comes Under Scrutiny for Alleged CCP Links

Brian Hioe
The TPP has come under fire for a possible party list candidate that the DPP claims to have formerly been a CCP member. The prospective candidate in question is Xu Chunying, the chair of the Taiwan New Residents Development Association, which advocates for the rights of foreign-born spouses in Taiwan. Xu is naturalized to Taiwanese nationality through marriage to a Taiwanese man...
EnglishOctober 2023Politics5 min read