Race

Proposal to Recruit International Students as Bus Drivers Furthers Migrant Exploitation

Brian Hioe
The Highway Bureau is reportedly considering recruiting international students and students of ethnic Han descent to fill positions as bus drivers, provided they speak intermediate-level Chinese. This continues the pattern of Taiwan opening up migrant worker categories for the so-called “3D”–“dirty, dangerous, and demeaning”–jobs that Taiwanese no longer want to take up themselves...
EnglishJanuary 2026LaborRaceSocial Movements4 min read

What Does Political Tension After Post-Typhoon Ragasa Reconstruction Reflect?

Brian Hioe
Video of Guangfu Township residents protesting a meeting held by KMT legislative caucus leader Fu Kun-chi attracted a great deal of attention online in late October. This was particularly the case, seeing as Hualien County Council Speaker Chang Chun, a resident of Guangfu, burst into the meeting and kicked Fu’s table...
EnglishEnvironmentalFeaturedIndigenousNovember 2025PoliticsRaceSocial Movements4 min read

Migrant Workers Protest Against Restrictions on Movement, Unionbusting at New Taipei Company

Brian Hioe
Filipino migrant workers at the TaiDoc Technology Corporation are demonstrating against union-busting and infringements of the basic rights of migrant workers at the company. TaiDoc is a major medical parts manufacturer based in New Taipei, while migrant workers are organized through the TaiDoc Technology Labor Union ...
EnglishFeaturedLaborNovember 2025RaceSocial Movements5 min read

Civil Society Groups Criticize Lack of Prosecution for Fishing Vessel

Brian Hioe
A group of scholars and civil society organizations released a statement earlier this month about the Pingtung District Prosecutors’ Office’s decision not to prosecute the vessel owners of the You-fu. Specifically, the statement criticizes the failure of Pingtung prosecutors to charge the vessel owners on charges of human trafficking. The signatory organizations were the Taiwan Association for Human Rights, the Taiwan Labour Front. Serve the People Association, International Center of Cultural Studies, and Work Better Innovations...
August 2025EnglishLaborPoliticsRaceSocial Movements4 min read