There has been a political firestorm after entertainer Antony Kuo made a viral Facebook post suggesting that there have been more deaths of children from COVID-19 than have been reported by the Central Epidemic Command Center. After the post, a number of suspected content farms posted claims about alleged child deaths due to COVID-19, raising questions about the circulation of misinformation and disinformation versus free speech in Taiwan. Unsurprisingly, the issue became contested between the pan-Blue and pan-Green camps...
Former president Chen Shui-bian was acquitted of corruption charges related to misuse of Presidential Office funds earlier today, following changes to the Accounting Act that were pushed for by the DPP. Chen is not cleared of all charges, however, and so this is not equivalent to a de facto pardon for him...
The question of who the DPP and KMT intend to field as their mayoral candidates in Taipei and Taoyuan has come under scrutiny in recent days, as the primary season comes to a close before nine-in-one elections later this year...
The KMT has sought to attack the Tsai administration over the issue of rapid tests as of late, taking advantage of public outrage over rapid test shortages. This follows a familiar script, seeing as the KMT has sought to use shortages of various medical supplies used to fight COVID-19 to attack the DPP throughout the course of the pandemic...
Backlash from pan-Green legislators has led the Mainland Affairs Council to suspend a plan to allow individuals from Hong Kong and Macau to obtain permanent residency in Taiwan after five years on a work permit. What the incident shows is the dynamics regarding perceptions of Hong Kong in Taiwan at present. Namely, as democratic freedoms continue to deteriorate in Hong Kong, it is increasingly possible that Taiwan simply comes to treat Hong Kong as part of China–and Hongkongers as Chinese. The issue continues to be contested over, with members of the pan-Green camp having not reached a consensus on the issue...
In the past week, some members of the DPP legislative caucus have proposed amending the Anti-Infiltration Act in order to allow for the dissolution of political parties that cooperate with another nation to influence the outcome of an election. In particular, DPP legislator Chiu Chih-wei is the main public backer of the bill...
Support for Ukraine from Taiwan continues, with 740 million NT for Ukraine raised within 18 days for a government-established relief fund that will be used for resettling refugees last month. Likewise, 216 tons of supplies have been sent to Ukraine from Taiwan to date, and there are plans to hold a benefit concert at the National Concert Hall in cooperation with the Polish representative office on April 17th. ...
With primary season in full swing in Taiwan, much speculation has turned to the question of who will be the pan-Blue and pan-Green camp’s respective political candidates for Taipei mayor...
A proposed constitutional amendment to lower the voting age to age 18 cleared the legislature last Friday. As a result, the amendment will be put to a national referendum later this year...
