Recent events in Singapore provide a negative object lesson for Taiwan, with public suggestions that the question of whether to decriminalize homosexuality triggered after India moved to decriminalize homosexuality. This invites a number of comparisons to Taiwan...
Recent comments by American president Donald Trump lashing out at what he claims are Chinese attempts to interfere in American midterm elections are ironic...
It may be ironic to note that the Epoch Times, the multilingual newspaper run in over 30 countries by the Falun Gong, has been put on edge by the rise of the Democratic Socialists of America. However, perhaps an instructive parable lies in there, somewhere...
The proposed banning of a Marxist book club at Peking University, one of China’s most prestigious and elite universities, is ironic. Namely, as part of its drive towards centralizing authority and advancing its version of Chinese nationalism, the current Chinese government under Xi Jinping purports to return to Marxist fundamentals rather than destabilizing western influences...
On August 11th, New Bloom editor Brian Hioe interviewed theatre/performance maker and music composer Jaha Koo, during his visit to Taipei to perform in the Taipei Arts Festival. The following is a transcript of their conversation, which has been edited for clarity...
Recent controversy regarding the demolition of a Changhua temple dedicated to the Chinese Communist Party demonstrates some of the challenges regarding freedom of speech in Taiwan. Namely, the existence of the temple points to some of the paradoxes of freedom of speech in Taiwan...
A recent article by Sunflower Movement student leader Lin Fei-Fan in The Diplomat has provoked strong reactions, with Lin raising questions about whether current Taipei mayor Ko Wen-Je has capitulated to China in terms of his position on cross-strait issues. While some claim that this is baseless, suspicion of Ko is warranted given Ko's increasing closeness to the pan-Blue camp in the years since he became Taipei mayor ...
A pattern of reporting in Taiwanese media that Taiwanese firms are planning on relocating back to Taiwan from China because of the current American trade war with China should be looked at with a great deal of skepticism...
In past months, one has observed a number of conflicting referendum proposals achieving the necessary political benchmarks to be held. The number of referendum proposals currently on the table is inclusive of referendums calling for gay marriage, against gay marriage, for nuclear power, for coal power, and for changing the name under which Taiwan is to participate in 2020 Tokyo Olympics...
