Crackdown on Organized Labor, Media Continues in Hong Kong

Brian Hioe

Asia Cement Ruling Likely to Be Resisted by the Company, with the Backing of the Ministry of Economic Affairs

Brian Hioe

Chunghwa Express Union Plans Strike Over Pay Raises

Brian Hioe

Party Arrests in Taoyuan Point to Larger Issues Facing Migrant Workers During COVID-19

Brian Hioe

Wave of Arrests in Hong Kong Over Commemorations of the Tiananmen Square Massacre

Brian Hioe

Transitional Justice Commission Proposes Removal of Statue in Chiang Kai-Shek Memorial

Brian Hioe

Social Movements

Evictions Due to Railroad Development Project Leads to Clashes Between Protesters, Police in Mid-August

Brian Hioe
Police clashed with protesters in Tainan on August 20th and August 21st, as part of efforts by authorities to evict the last household resisting eviction as part of plans to construct the Tainan Urban District Railway Underground Project. A total of 340 households were displaced for the railway development project. While most households agreed to move, five households refused...
August 2021EnglishEnvironmentalFeaturedSocial Movements5 min read

Indonesian Sailors Unable to Return Home for Over a Year Points to Larger Issue During COVID

Brian Hioe
105 Indonesian sailors returned home by plane after close to half a year of being stranded at sea on August 21st. The sailors were unable to enter Taiwan because of border restrictions that prevent merchant vessels registered to a different country from docking in Taiwan, only allowing ships owned by Taiwanese nationals and registered to Taiwan to dock. Likewise, maritime conventions dictate that it is the responsibility of the owner of a vessel, the nation to which the vessel is registered, and the nation to which the sailors come from to provide for repatriations...
August 2021EnglishLaborSocial Movements6 min read

National Controversy Breaks Out After 154 Illegally Smuggled Cats Euthanized in Kaohsiung

Brian Hioe
A national controversy has broken out, following the euthanizing of 154 cats that were being smuggled into Taiwan on a fishing vessel. The cats, which included breeds such as American shorthair, British shorthair, Persian, Ragdoll, and Russian blue, were worth over 10 million NT. The cats were found in 62 cages on the vessel, which had a crew of five...
August 2021EnglishEnvironmentalSocial Movements7 min read

Clashes Break Out Between Protesters, Police Last Week Over Review of Shezidao Development Plans

Brian Hioe
Clashes broke out between residents of Shezidao, also known as Shezi Island, and police last week on Wednesday. These clashes took place in context of the Taipei city government’s second stage review environmental impact assessment conducted on the prospect of development on the island. This led to not only fighting with the police, but clashes between residents of Shezidao in favor of development and those opposed to it. This may be one of the first times that fighting has broken out during a protest during the current COVID-19 outbreak that Taiwan is currently in the late stages of...
August 2021EnglishEnvironmentalSocial Movements5 min read

Obstacles Remain for Transnational Gay Marriages, Despite Marriage of Taiwan-Macau Gay Couple

Brian Hioe
A marriage between a Taiwanese man and his partner from Macau have been hailed as a landmark for transnational gay marriages in Taiwan. The marriage, which took place between Ting Tse-yan and his partner Guzifer Leong, who is from Macau, took place yesterday and was registered at the Zhongzheng District Household Registration Office. The marriage could happen because of a ruling by the Taipei High Administrative Court in May...
August 2021EnglishGender/SexualitySocial Movements6 min read