Four Decades of Strife and Resistance: A Deep Dive Into What’s Happening in West Papua

Girard Mariano Lopez

Interview: Kawtorpai Church

Patrick Huang

Electricity Price Hikes Likely to Lead to Political Contestation

Brian Hioe

Civil Society Groups Mark Anniversary of Fukushima Disaster Earlier This Month

Brian Hioe

Freeway and High-Speed Rail Proposal by the KMT Stokes Controversy

Brian Hioe

Die-in Held in Liberty Plaza in Taipei for Palestine and Gaza

Brian Hioe

Social Movements

Tiananmen, Hong Kong and the US in the Age of COVID, Trump, and Xi

Adam K. Dedman
Whether it be young black men targeted in disproportionate numbers amidst white revanchism led by Trump or Hong Kong students beaten and arrested by security forces implementing a reign of terror engendered by Xi’s trampling of the city’s Basic Law, we must look past nationalistic rhetoric that obscures dark legacies of American and Chinese empire and policies of state violence that continue to operationalize in the present. On the 31st anniversary of Tiananmen Square, this is what we should keep in mind...
EnglishJune 2020Social MovementsYouth Movements9 min read

Eswatini Students Forced to Work in Factory is the Latest in Series of Similar Incidents

Brian Hioe
Reports that 40 exchange students from Eswatini studying in Taiwan were forced to work in a refrigerated factory skinning chickens should be highly concerning. Namely, there have been a number of similar incidents in past years involving students from non-western countries forced to work in factories for low wages by their universities under the auspices of work-study programs or internships...
EnglishJune 2020LaborRaceSocial Movements5 min read

American Abandonment of Hong Kong Could Be Framed as an Anti-China Move Through Loss of Autonomous Status

Brian Hioe
It is possible that protests yesterday in Hong Kong will be remembered as a pivotal event. Although yesterday’s demonstration is comparable to many of the protests that took place in the past year before the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, in the wake of the protests yesterday, American Secretary of State Mike Pompeo certified to Congress that Hong Kong was no longer autonomous from China...
EnglishMay 2020Self-DeterminationSocial MovementsYouth Movements13 min read

Statement by Tsai Ing-wen Is Vague at Best, at Worst Is Aimed at Cutting Ties With Hong Kong

Brian Hioe
Taiwanese president Tsai Ing-wen took to Facebook yesterday night to issue a statement regarding the ongoing protests in Hong Kong. While Tsai expressed support of Hongkongers, it proves hasty to assume that Tsai was proposing any concrete measure to aid Hongkongers out of a sense of solidarity. In fact, if it proves to be more than a vague statement that Tsai has no real intention of acting on, Tsai’s statement could be interpreted as aimed at putting further distance between Taiwan and Hong Kong more than anything else...
EnglishMay 2020PhotographersSelf-DeterminationSocial MovementsYouth Movements15 min read

Familiar Cycle of Clashes as Protests Take Place in Hong Kong Against Beijing-Backed Security Legislation

Brian Hioe
Protests involving clashes between demonstrators and police broke out today in Hong Kong, in the apparent resumption of what was a familiar pattern in the last year. The demonstration today was against plans by China’s National People’s Congress to pass security legislation circumventing the Hong Kong Legislative Council. Police did not wait for long to use tear gas, firing tear gas at demonstrators around 1:30 PM...
EnglishMay 2020Self-DeterminationSocial MovementsYouth Movements6 min read