August 2023

Is China Seeking to Influence Cultural Preservation Efforts in Taiwan?

Brian Hioe
The Am Kehnn Cultural Workshop, an organization dedicated to cultural preservation efforts, stated on Facebook earlier this month that Beijing had sought to use United Front tactics to influence historical preservation efforts in Taiwan. This would be through funding projects to create public spaces in Taiwan, with the aim of influencing the end product...
August 2023EnglishPoliticsSelf-DeterminationSocial MovementsYouth Movements5 min read

Hou and Gou Make Economic and Political Proposals for Kinmen

Brian Hioe
President Tsai Ing-wen, KMT presidential candidate Hou You-yi, and Foxconn founder Terry Gou all traveled to Kinmen over the last week. Though Gou has not formally announced a presidential run, he has strongly hinted at one. Gou would be likely running as an independent, having ruled out the possibility of collaboration with the KMT and this also being unlikely with Ko Wen-je’s TPP, seeing as neither he nor Ko would serve as the other’s deputy...
August 2023EnglishPolitics6 min read

#MeToo in Taiwan’s Music Industry: After Making Waves, Can We Forge a Better Workplace?

Chen-yu Lin
In 2023, a watershed moment emerged in Taiwan’s #MeToo movement with the resounding success of the Netflix series “Wave Makers.” The show’s resonance was profound, shedding light on sexual harassment and abuse in the workplace. This spotlight inspired survivors from politics, education, arts, and entertainment to break their silence...
August 2023EnglishGender/SexualitySocial Movements6 min read

The #MeToo Movement in Taiwan: Reconfiguring the Intimate Life

Mei-Hua Chen
The #MeToo movement has been claimed as a global movement that connects women in the global North and the global South. Nonetheless, the MeToo movement must always confront various local social, economic, and cultural relations when it spreads across the globe. It also demands social, legal, and even material infrastructures to materialise. Global South countries that fail to deliver the MeToo movement might relate to the lack of efficient internet infrastructure and the taboo of talking about sex in public (e.g. Bangladesh), freedom of speech (e.g. China), or severe social stratification such as India in which the MeToo movement only circulated among the rich and well-educated elite women...
August 2023EnglishGender/SexualityPoliticsSocial Movements7 min read

Has the #MeToo Wave Passed in Taiwan?

Brian Hioe
A short three months after a wave of #MeToo cases swept across the Taiwanese political landscape, it proves a question as to whether there have been genuine changes in social attitudes in the aftermath of these cases. Certainly, there has been no shortage of commentary on the matter, and the legislature responded by passing amendments to Taiwan’s “Three Gender Equality laws.” But whether there are lasting changes remains to be seen...
August 2023EnglishGender/SexualityPoliticsSocial Movements10 min read