Kawlo Iyun

As the NPP’s Internal Crisis Continues, the DPP Takes Steps to Promote Young People Within the Party

Brian Hioe
The internal crisis of the NPP continues, with elements of the party leadership seemingly still uncommitted to endorsing Tsai Ing-wen of the DPP in 2020 presidential elections and continuing to flirt with the idea of nominating former chair Huang Kuo-chang as the NPP’s presidential candidate. These primarily seem to be older members of the NPP, suggesting an inability to overcome generational inertia in the NPP. In the meantime, the DPP is increasingly taking steps to run young candidates in 2020 elections and appointing young people to high positions within the party...
EnglishPoliticsSeptember 20199 min read

In Midst of the NPP’s Continuing Internal Crisis, Sabrina Lim Announces Run for Party Chair

Brian Hioe
Huang Kuo-chang, one of the NPP's two remaining legislators and the party’s former chair, suggested earlier this week that he will not run for reelection as legislator, a move that has led to criticisms with the view that this would lose another legislative seat for the NPP. With it becoming increasingly clear that younger members of the party—who are primarily city councilors and in their 20s and early 30s—will have to take over the party leadership if it is to survive, Taipei city councilor Sabrina Lim announced her plans to run for party chair earlier today...
August 2019EnglishSelf-DeterminationSocial MovementsYouth Movements11 min read

Freddy Lim’s Departure Pushes NPP Toward Cooperation with the DPP

Brian Hioe
Freddy Lim announcing his withdrawal from the New Power Party over the party’s failure to adopt a clear policy regarding whether to cooperate with the DPP in next year’s presidential and legislative elections seems to have been surprisingly successful as a political strategy. Lim was able to successfully force the NPP into at least publicly claiming that it will endorse Tsai Ing-wen for reelection in 2020 elections next year...
August 2019EnglishPolitics8 min read

The NPP Faces Crisis After Major Controversies, Unexpected Departure of Freddy Lim

Brian Hioe
The NPP saw two major controversies erupt in the past week, not only regarding a conflict of interest scandal regarding legislator Kawlo Iyun Pacidal that led to her being stripped of her position as a legislator, but also questions about the political orientation of the party vis-a-vis the DPP going into 2020 elections. Subsequently, with little warning, NPP legislator and party heavyweight Freddy Lim announced earlier today that he would be withdrawing from the NPP and running in Taipei’s Zhongzheng-Wanhua district as an independent...
August 2019EnglishPolitics22 min read

Controversy About Indigenous and Gender Representation After NPP Party Congress

Brian Hioe
Controversy has broken out after the NPP’s first general meeting for members was held last Saturday in Xindian. Namely, criticisms of the party have arisen from indigenous members of the party and others after a proposal that the central committee of the NPP should have at least one indigenous member and that no gender should have less than one-third representation on the central committee was voted down...
EnglishIndigenousJanuary 2019RaceSocial Movements6 min read