New Power Party

As Protests Continue, Why Is The DPP So Intent On Passing Labor Law Changes, Anyway?

Brian Hioe
The camp-out against the Tsai administration’s planned changes to the Labor Standards Act continues into its second day, with it being anticipated that the changes will see their third reading today within the Legislative Yuan. At this juncture, it may be useful to examine why exactly the DPP is so intent on passing through changes to the Labor Standards Act...
#20EnglishJanuary 2018LaborSocial Movements13 min read

Camp-Out Against Labor Law Begins, Attempts Made To Storm City Streets

Brian Hioe
Protests against the Tsai administration’s planned changes to the Labor Standards Act continues. Today saw the start of a weeklong camp-out outside the Legislative Yuan in order to demonstrate the planned changes, as well as a dramatic action by students intended to escalate events, with attempts to block Zhongshan South Road, Beiping North Road, Civic Boulevard, and other roads. However, the day also began with the dismantling of the New Power Party’s occupation against the planned changes by police in the early morning hours...
#20EnglishJanuary 2018LaborSocial Movements8 min read

NPP Occupation In Front Of Presidential Office Continues Past 24 Hours

Brian Hioe
As the New Power Party's occupation in front of the Presidential Office continues past its 24th hour, shock and outrage has ensued against the Tsai administration for the disproportionate police reaction against demonstrations against planned changes to the Labor Standards Act. This includes police setting up a restricted area around the Presidential Office so large that Taiwanese media has dubbed it to be the "largest restricted area in Taiwanese history"...
#20EnglishJanuary 2018LaborSocial Movements9 min read

Conservative Forces On The Move Behind Huang Kuo-Chang’s Recall Vote?

Brian Hioe
While LGBTQ organizations in Taiwan such as the Taiwan Tongzhi Hotline have publicly stated that the recall vote recently faced by NPP chair Huang Kuo-Chang should be a wake-up call for LGBTQ groups in Taiwan, as a reminder of the fact that they remain opposed by a number of socially conservative forces, this also raises a question worth considering. Was it, in fact, anti-gay marriage groups which were the primary force behind the recall vote against Huang? Ultimately, even if the recall vote did not succeed, what one finds in examining the social forces behind the recall vote is that the NPP may have been outgunned from the beginning by conservative social forces...
December 2017EnglishPolitics9 min read

A Counter-Example For Taiwan In The Conservative Resurgence In Japan?

Brian Hioe
The example of the rise of Yuriko Koike’s “Party of Hope” in Japan, offers an example in a mirror darkly for Taiwan, perhaps. Namely, what Japan offers as a counter-example for Taiwan is the failure of democratic politics in allowing for the rise of two starkly conservative parties which do not substantially differ in their politics. Nevertheless, there may be some lessons to be learned for Taiwan...
EnglishOctober 2017Politics7 min read