January 2025

Lai Administration Carries Out Its First Execution, In Effort to Prove Capital Punishment Still on the Books

The first execution under the Lai administration took place yesterday. This was the first execution carried out by the Taiwanese government in five years. For the execution to have been carried out, the Minister of Justice and President would have to sign off. The last execution in Taiwan took place under the Tsai administration in April 2020...

A Taiwanese Doctor’s “Surreal” Humanitarian Journey in Gaza

“Leaving Gaza was surreal. As we left the buffer zone from Gaza, people care little about throwing away half a bottle of soda, or flicking a cigarette, like how things are in a normal world,“ said Dr. Wu. According to Dr. Wu, just about 10 kilometers away from the blockade, only one out of the four sinks at Dr.Wu’s workstation in Nasser Hospital supplied a somewhat stable source of clean water. According to CSIS, Oxfam International, The United Nations Children’s Fund, BBC, CNN, there were barely any sanitation standards for water outside of hospitals because of Israel’s targeted strikes on Gaza’s infrastructure....

Will the Ministry of Labor’s New Guidelines Improve Conditions Facing Female Migrant Workers?

The Ministry of Labor has released new guidelines on the rights of female migrant workers. Nevertheless, it is to be seen whether the guidelines rectify a longstanding problem in Taiwanese society. One issue of note facing female migrant workers is that many have their work terminated after becoming pregnant. 6,000 female migrant workers become pregnant in Taiwan each year, but 78% of migrant workers who receive maternity benefits end their contracts and return to their home countries...