July 2022

Comments on Draft By Former NSC Official Gesture Toward Pan-Green Criticisms of Draft Length

Brian Hioe
Former National Security Council secretary-general Ting Yu-chou criticized the four-month draft in recent public comments. The comments were made by Ting, who served as secretary-general of the NSC under the Chen administration, at a book launch by Chang Rong-feng. Chang was a former Lee Teng-hui administration security official...
EnglishInternationalJuly 2022Regional Tensions5 min read

Chunghwa Express Workers Strike Earlier This Month Over Wages

Brian Hioe
Chunghwa Express workers struck earlier this month over low pay. The strike was nationwide and began on July 4th, with workers that first began striking in Hsinchu, Taipei, Taoyuan, and Yilan. The strike would have expanded beyond just northern Taiwan if there had been no response from company management, with workers staging a sit-in in front of the Ministry of Transportation and Communications (MOTC). However, the strike ended on July 10th after workers’ demands were agreed to by the company administration...
EnglishJuly 2022LaborSocial Movements5 min read

Taipower and Atomic Energy Council Clash Over Orchid Island Ruling

Brian Hioe
Taipower, Taiwan's state-run energy utility, won out in a recent ruling by the Supreme Administrative Court that exempted it from needing to pay 30 million NT for failing to remove low-level nuclear waste from Orchid Island. Low-level nuclear waste refers to items that have become contaminated with radioactive material or become radioactive through exposure, as distinguished from intermediate-level nuclear waste, high-level nuclear waste, spent fuel rods, or other nuclear waste materials...
EnglishEnvironmentalIndigenousJuly 2022Social Movements5 min read

Bilingual 2030 Rebrand Still Criticized

Brian Hioe
Following criticisms by academics, teachers, and others, the government appears to be shifting tack with plans to encourage bilingual education in Taiwan. The policies previously referred to as “Bilingual Nation 2030” have been rebranded as “Bilingual 2030” and the goal is no longer to make Taiwan into a bilingual nation by 2030. However, the new set of policies has still been criticized by educational groups such as the National Federation of Teachers Unions...
EnglishJuly 2022Politics5 min read

Legal Case Over Chiang Diaries Reflects Struggle Over Historical Memory

Brian Hioe
The Taiwan High Court ruled earlier this week that the diaries of Chiang Kai-shek and Chiang Ching-kuo from when they were president belong to the state, upholding a ruling by the Taipei District Court from June 2020. The decision from June 2020 also stated that the papers written by the Chiangs when they were not president belong to their heirs, and this was upheld in the most recent ruling. Chiang Kai-shek and Chiang Ching-kuo, of course, ruled over Taiwan during the authoritarian era, as father and son strongmen...
EnglishJuly 2022Politics5 min read

Clashes Between Demonstrators, Suspected Gangsters in Miaoli Over Landfill Development Plans

Brian Hioe
Clashes broke out in Miaoli earlier this week over the Kunyu landfill, when local residents demonstrating the landfill’s construction were allegedly attacked by men that they allege were gangsters hired by the construction company. The clashes took place around 3 AM yesterday, in the early morning hours of Thursday. Eight were injured, consisting of five men and three women, including a student whose glasses were broken during the struggle...
EnglishEnvironmentalJuly 2022Social Movements7 min read

Biden Comments Suggest Disapproval of Pelosi Visit to Taiwan

Brian Hioe
A scoop by the Financial Times on Tuesday reported that US Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi planned to visit Taiwan next month. However, US president Joe Biden surprised today with apparent off-the-cuff comments suggesting that his administration viewed the Pelosi visit as a bad idea. When asked about the prospect of a Pelosi visit, Biden stated, “Well, I think that the military thinks it’s not a good idea right now. But I don’t know what the status of it is”...
EnglishInternationalJuly 2022Regional Tensions8 min read