Timeline

Tsai Administration Defends Labor Ties with India

The Tsai administration has defended a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) inked between the Taiwanese government and the Indian government about allowing Indians to work as migrant workers in Taiwan. Namely, in past months, as the two governments finalized the signing of the MoU and the finalization of the draft MoU was reported on in Taiwan, there was a wave of backlash against the prospect...

KMT Protests Report by Premier Over Food Safety

A political controversy about a banned meat additive has become an object of partisan contestation between the KMT and DPP, with the KMT boycotting a report to the legislature by Premier Chen Chien-jen yesterday. The controversy led to back-and-forth before the Lunar New Year between the health authorities of the Food and Drug Administration and the Ministry of Health and Welfare...

Environmentalists File Lawsuit to Push Government to Take Action

Environmentalists called on the government to take further action against carbon emissions ahead of the Lunar New Year. In particular, the Environmental Justice Foundation and other groups filed a constitutional lawsuit calling for swifter action and a clearer timeline for action on environmental goals. The Climate Change Response Act was criticized for not having short-term and medium-term goals in terms of action to be taken on climate change...

Beyond Mayday’s Lip-Synching Investigation: Taiwan’s Music Freedom Questioned Under PRC Influences

On December 28, 2023, Reuters and CNN​ reported a disconcerting incident involving Mayday, a Taiwanese rock band, who found themselves entangled in a request from Chinese authorities to make pro-Beijing statements. As reported by CNN, the authorities demanded a public statement affirming the unity of China and Taiwan as a single nation. The band’s refusal to comply resulted in consequences related to alleged lip-synching, which is referred to as “deceptive singing (假唱)” in Chinese. This accusation carries the potential for fines or even performance bans under Chinese law. These developments stemmed from their December concert in Shanghai and are potentially connected to Taiwan’s presidential election in January 2024, prompting an ongoing investigation....