The Apple Daily was raided by police today, with five executives of the media organization arrested. The raid involved 500 police officers and could have large implications for media in Hong Kong going forward...
One expects that attempts by China to sow division in Taiwan using the issue of vaccines will only continue—if not strengthen—after the recent vaccine donations from the US and Japan. Vaccine diplomacy is the name of the game...
Taiwan marked one hundred days since the last case of domestic transmission of COVID-19 on July 17th, with the last case of local COVID-19 transmission having taken place on April 8th. It appears as though the COVID-19 situation is still under control in Taiwan, Taiwan having managed to avoid the expansive lockdowns that the rest of the world has seen. However, with the second and third waves of COVID-19 taking place globally and five new imported cases added today, Taiwan is likely to see an uptick in imported cases going forward...
National security legislation targeting Hong Kong was passed by China’s National People’s Congress this morning. It is believed that the new law, which criminalizes sedition, collusion with foreign forces, subversion of the government, and other charges, will have wide sweeping effects on Hong Kong’s political freedoms...
Twenty KMT legislators occupied the assembly chambers of the Legislative Yuan this afternoon to protest the Tsai administration’s Control Yuan nominations. The occupation began at around 5 PM, with KMT legislators barricading the doors of the Legislative Yuan with chairs and other objects, occupying and writing slogans on the speaker’s podium...
Pride was commemorated in Taipei this afternoon, with a small parade at Liberty Plaza titled “Taiwan Pride Parade for the World”. Around 1,000 were in attendance, despite showers through the afternoon...
With the relocation of New York Times reporters to Taipei earlier this year because of media expulsions from China, this is reflective of broader trends in the region. It is still to be seen whether other western media outlets intend to open bureaus in Taiwan...
With the Taipei city government taking steps to expedite the completion of the Taipei Dome, Taipei mayor Ko Wen-je has seen bipartisan criticism for flip-flopping on the Taipei Dome’s construction...
Several recent incidents indicate how support for Taiwan from other countries sometimes occurs primarily as the result of antagonisms with China rather than genuine solidarity with Taiwan. In particular, tensions between many nations and China have been accentuated by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and the US-China trade war...
