July 2024

Members of Hong Kong Independence Group Arrested, Charges Include Over Flag-Raising Ceremony in Taipei

Brian Hioe
Hong Kong police claim that they have arrested four individuals aged 15 to 47 over a pro-independence organization that advocates for Hong Kong independence. What proves unusual, however, is that they claim that this organization has links to Taiwan, according to Chinese state-run media, and the arrest took place at least partly because of actions that took place in Taiwan....
EnglishJuly 2024Self-DeterminationSocial MovementsYouth Movements6 min read

A Snapshot on Public Art: An Interview with Cal Y Canto Dance Group

Peiyi Yu
The young audience exclaimed when the dancers of Cal Y Canto dance group wheeled a giant goldfish kite to swoop over them, aghast with wonder. Cal Y Canto‘s performances at the New Taipei City Children’s Art Festival had created a following for themselves. Their performances between July 14 to July 20 at the Children’s Art Festival regularly gathered a crowd of youthful audience every night at 8:30pm. The dancers saw their free for all performances for children as a way to “recover the public space"...
Arts and CultureEnglishJuly 2024Performance4 min read

Jail Sentences Handed Down for Spying on Tibetan, Taiwanese Independence Activists

Brian Hioe
In an unusual case, a Taiwanese businessman named Fang Hsiang and his associates have become implicated in espionage charges. Fang, who served as the head of a business association in Hainan for Taiwanese businessmen in China and is in his seventies, is accused of spying on Taiwanese and Tibetan independence activists in Taiwan...
EnglishJuly 2024PoliticsSelf-DeterminationSocial Movements5 min read

Why is Bangladesh Protesting in the Tens of Thousands While Facing Grave State Violence?

Girard Mariano Lopez
In the past week, Bangladeshi youth took to the streets in the tens of thousands against a “jobs quota law”. The law was criticized as a system that favors public sector jobs to allies of the ruling party. However, the government responded harshly against the protests—deploying military forces to universities, imposing curfews, and shutting down both the internet and media, effectively cutting off 170 million people from the outside world. More than 150 are said to have been killed by police, with thousands injured...
EnglishJuly 2024Social MovementsYouth Movements6 min read

What Now for Taiwan, with Biden Out of the US Presidential Election?

Brian Hioe
There was much discussion about the implications for Taiwan in the wake of the first US presidential debate, which took place late last month between Joe Biden of the Democratic Party and Donald Trump of the Republican Party. Biden is the current US president, while Trump is the former president, but Trump is running for reelection...
America and the Asia PacificEnglishInternationalJuly 2024Politics6 min read