Prashad and Chak Whitewash Colonialism in Most Banal of Terms in Monthly Review Article

Brian Hioe

Cheng Li-Wun Redefines 1992 Consensus, Calls for United Front Against Independence in Xi Meeting

Brian Hioe

No, Cheng’s Trip to China Does Not Break New Ground

Brian Hioe

Progressive International’s Adulation of “Whole-Process Democracy” Celebrates Capitalist Party-States

Brian Hioe

Politics

Comments By William Lai Provoke Ire

Brian Hioe
Controversy has been provoked by comments from Tainan mayor William Lai stating that his views are for Taiwan to have relations “close to China, while loving Taiwan.” For Lai, previously known as a pro-independence firebrand, these comments are a notable step back from previous statements in which Lai avowed support of Taiwanese independence while traveling in China. Very likely Lai’s statement reflects several things...
EnglishJune 2017Politics9 min read

Chinese Women’s League Controversy Illustrates Difficulty Parsing ROC And KMT Institutions

Brian Hioe
The Chinese Women’s League has recently been mired in controversy regarding accusations that most of its resources come from KMT party assets or the military. But the controversy is illustrative of the difficulties in distinguishing ROC institutions from KMT ones, as well as how many institutions with large amounts of resources dating from the authoritarian era still exist with little oversight in Taiwan...
EnglishJune 2017Politics6 min read

Wu Den-Yih Versus Hung Hsiu-Chu?

Brian Hioe
Factional infighting continues in the KMT following the election of Wu Den-Yih as chair, with the latest spat taking place as a result of outgoing chair Hung Hsiu-Chu attempting to appoint new Central Standing Committee members despite nearing the end of her term. Hung’s actions would be in order to ensure that her faction of the party continues to have a say in party decision-making despite her loss in her bid for reelection as party chair...
#18EnglishJune 2017Politics7 min read

Will The Tsai Administration’s War On Drugs Prove Invasive Of Personal Freedoms?

Brian Hioe
The Tsai administration has vowed to step up the war on drugs in recent times. But does the Tsai administration's war on drugs raise concerns for personal privacy in Taiwan, particularly for young people? Namely, social attitudes in Taiwan sometimes skew towards seeing young people as dangerous drug users, even when this is not backed up by statistics, and there is the possibility that the Tsai administration's war on drugs may disproportionately target young people. More broadly, as with elsewhere in the world, one suspects that the Tsai administration's war on drugs masks systemic inequalities in society...
EnglishMay 2017Politics7 min read

Wu Den-Yih Clinches KMT Chair

Brian Hioe
The election of Wu Den-Yih as KMT chair probably does not represent the party stepping back from the brink but a return to something closer to normalcy within the party. This will not, however, forestall the internal crisis within the party, nor does it mark that the KMT will be able to turn over a new leaf in the near future and win back the Taiwanese public...
EnglishMay 2017Politics11 min read

Is An Unpopular Government A Permanent Characteristic Of Taiwanese Democracy?

Brian Hioe
With recent polling by the Taiwanese Public Opinion Foundation indicating that the majority of the Taiwanese public is dissatisfied with the government, this would be a sign of the Tsai administration’s failure to maintain the political momentum it rode into power on. However, although this does not absolve Tsai from blame for her political actions either, perhaps this ultimately is due to the characteristics of Taiwan’s democracy as a result of the process of Taiwanese democratization...
April 2017EnglishPolitics6 min read