February 2022

Will Eric Chu Travel to the US?

It continues to be up in the air as to whether KMT chair Eric Chu will make a trip to the US. The KMT’s Department of International Affairs announced that Chu was planning to visit the US after the Lunar New Holiday in December. More recent announcements, however, have suggested that the trip is delayed...

Where Does Taiwan Stand Regarding the Ukraine Crisis?

Since a provocative speech by Russian president Vladimir Putin earlier this week, one has seen a number of comparisons between Ukraine and Taiwan circulating in the media. In Putin’s speech, he declared that he did not view Ukraine as qualifying to be a nation-state but as an entity that had been created by the Soviet Union, while also stating that Russia would on the other hand acknowledge separatist-controlled regions in Donetsk and Luhansk. It may not be surprising, then, that there have been comparisons made to Taiwan, or reflection upon how this affects Taiwan...

Kaohsiung Tea Factory Scandal Points to Larger Issues Regarding Cost-Cutting

A recent scandal regarding a melon tea store in Kaohsiung broke out after photos circulated online of dead mice and bee corpses in pots in the factory area. The tea store in question is over sixty years old, is located in the Cianjin District of Kaohsiung, and also operates as a factory, selling ingredients for melon tea to a number of beverage stores in the area...

Indigenous Representatives Criticize Executive Yuan Report on Asia Cement Mine

A report by the Executive Yuan on the Asia Cement mine on Indigenous land in Taroko Gorge has led to backlash from Indigenous community representatives, after the findings of the report were that there was not any illegal activity in the land leases for mine. The report’s conclusions have been criticized as reflecting a certain political viewpoint, as well as being contradictory to the report itself. Issues have also been raised with the writing process for the report. Asia Cement is a subsidiary of Far Eastern Group, one of Taiwan’s largest conglomerates...