Tsai Ing-Wen

Controversy Over Religious Practices Exposes Potential Future Faultlines

Garrett Dee
Controversy on the subject of the government’s supposed restrictions on religious practices and their impact on the environment has sparked protests in Taiwan with the start of Ghost Month, leading over ten thousand Taoist and Buddhist devotees to march in Taipei in opposition to what they saw as unreasonable government interference in their religious expression...
EnglishJuly 2017Politics6 min read

Forward-Looking Infrastructure Plan Passes: Public Outrage To Follow?

Brian Hioe
With the passage of the Forward-Looking Infrastructure Bill yesterday night after its third reading, Taiwanese youth activists have reacted angrily to the bill's, seeing as the DPP does not rule out forced land expropriation in the bill. Still others have has also raised concerns that the Forward-Looking Infrastructure Bill could lead to unaccountable spending and an extreme arrogation of power to the Executive Yuan. ...
EnglishJuly 2017Politics9 min read

China’s Isolation Of The DPP Feeds Taiwanese Independence

Joseph Lewis Reid
As we see in Panama's breaking of diplomatic ties with Taiwan or the kidnapping of Lee Ming-Che, does China think international bullying of Taiwan is effective? What is the end goal? We can assume the CCP's eventual end goal is "reunification", but it is difficult to comprehend how political and economic bullying will win over the hearts and minds of the Taiwanese people...
EnglishInternationalJune 2017Regional Tensions3 min read

Comments By William Lai Provoke Ire

Brian Hioe
Controversy has been provoked by comments from Tainan mayor William Lai stating that his views are for Taiwan to have relations “close to China, while loving Taiwan.” For Lai, previously known as a pro-independence firebrand, these comments are a notable step back from previous statements in which Lai avowed support of Taiwanese independence while traveling in China. Very likely Lai’s statement reflects several things...
EnglishJune 2017Politics9 min read

Tsai Administration Quietly Approves Nuclear Reactor Restarts: Outrage To Follow?

Brian Hioe
The recent decision of the Tsai administration to allow for nuclear reactor restarts in Taiwan of the No. 1 reactor at the Guosheng nuclear power plant and the No. 2 reactor at the Ma-anshan plant in order to accommodate the energy needs of the upcoming summer may be a decision which will cause a future wave of protest against the Tsai administration...
EnglishEnvironmentalJune 2017Social Movements7 min read

Uncivilize The Civil Code

萬庭威
The Council of Grand Justices' Interpretation 748 as realizing marriage equality is supposed to be a milestone, if we are to do or say the appropriate thing. But in reality, if we read the interpretation a bit more carefully, we can raise several important issues which have been neglected to date. The importance of these issues lay in that this article cannot be seen as merely concerning marriage equality, but have broad effects on sexual freedoms, marriage and even the Civil Code itself in Taiwan...
#18Brian HioeEnglishGender/SexualityMay 2017Social Movements10 min read

The First Asian “Country,” “Place”, Or “Chinese Province” To Realize Marriage Equality?

Brian Hioe
International media outlets have sometimes referred to Taiwan as the first “country” in Asia to legalize gay marriage by court ruling. More commonly, Taiwan has been referred to as an “island,” “place”, or without any reference to what kind of polity Taiwan is altogether, but still stressing the historic nature of the event as a first in Asia. This is revealing of the hypocrisy of international media...
#18EnglishGender/SexualityMay 2017Social Movements5 min read