DPP

Third and Final Presidential Policy Presentation Takes Place

Brian Hioe
The third and final televised presidential policy presentation took place yesterday, consisting of three rounds of exchanges between presidential candidates Tsai Ing-wen of the DPP, Han Kuo-yu of the KMT, and James Soong of the PFP. Overall, the last policy presentation was probably the least substantive, with only Tsai referring to concrete policy and Soong and Han focusing primarily on attacking Tsai...
December 2019EnglishPolitics8 min read

Is Controversy Regarding the Anti-Infiltration Bill a Fake Political Issue?

Brian Hioe
Controversy regarding a new anti-infiltration bill that the Tsai administration intends to pass before the end of the year largely proves a false issue. Namely, while Tsai seems in a rush to pass the bill before the year’s end and the KMT claims that the DPP is infringing on political freedoms and shrugging off legal oversight measures to pass the bill so quickly, it is actually quite unlikely the bill will do much to stop Chinese efforts to influence Taiwanese elections...
December 2019EnglishPolitics8 min read

The “Democracy Frontline” Reflects Shifts in Youth Participation in 2020 Electoral Politics

Brian Hioe
Though under-discussed in English-language writing on the 2020 presidential and legislative elections that are set to take place in January next year, the “Democracy Frontline” interparty alliance proves one of the more significant formations where youth participation in electoral politics is concerned. The Democracy Frontline consists of young independent, third party, or DPP candidates that have aligned to tacitly endorse Tsai Ing-wen’s reelection campaign...
December 2019EnglishPolitics8 min read

Chthonic Concert Draws 30,000, Dueling Rallies in Kaohsiung Both Draw Hundreds of Thousands

Brian Hioe
A number of political rallies took place in both northern and southern Taiwan today, between both the Pan-Green and Pan-Blue camps. In Taipei, independent legislator Freddy Lim and the young Pan-Green candidates of the "Democracy Frontline" interparty alliance held a rally and concert on Ketagalan Boulevard with Lim's band, the symphonic black metal band Chthonic. President Tsai Ing-wen was among those in attendance, with organizers claiming that over 30,000 attended the concert...
December 2019EnglishPolitics7 min read

Misogyny, Racism, and Homophobia Abound in 2020 Elections

Brian Hioe
In examining many of the prominent male politicians playing important roles in 2020 elections, a striking commonality is their frequent overt displays of misogyny, racism, and homophobia. This is true of individuals including but not limited to Kaohsiung mayor Han Kuo-yu, the KMT’s presidential candidate, his running mate Simon Chang, KMT chair Wu Den-yih, and Taipei mayor Ko Wen-je, who is not running but whose Taiwan People’s Party will be fielding a number of legislative candidates in 2020 elections...
December 2019EnglishPolitics6 min read