Tsai Ing-Wen

Fallism and Chiang Kai-Shek Statue Removal in Taiwan as a Means of Mobilization

Lwazi Bululu
Midterm elections are around the corner and there has been a plethora of ballot box issues to choose from that will prove decisive in key races: from Indigenous issues, incumbents’ COVID response, alleged corruption, and so on. But one issue that is not going to feature at all will be that of transformative justice and the unresolved issue of the biggest symbol of authoritarianism: the bronze statue of Chiang Kai-Shek at the Chiang Kai-Shek Memorial. Which begs the question of the purpose of political iconoclasm, or image breaking, as a form of performative democracy...
2022 ElectionsEnglishNovember 2022PoliticsSelf-DeterminationSocial MovementsTheory and History8 min read

Regional Forums Discuss Mixed Indigenous Identity and Legal Recognition in Taiwan

Yo-Ling Chen
This past Friday in Pingtung City, the Mixed Indigenous Youth Forum Working Group (MIYF) held its fifth and final regional forum on the life experiences of Indigenous youth from mixed backgrounds. Combined with the other regional forums held in Taichung, Taipei, Taitung, and Hualien, MIYF discussed and recorded over 50 participants’ life stories pertaining to their Indigenous identity journey and variable engagements with Indigenous legal status...
EnglishIndigenousOctober 2022RaceSocial Movements16 min read

Few Surprises in 20th National Congress Comments on Taiwan by Xi

Brian Hioe
Comments by Chinese President Xi Jinping at the start of the Chinese Communist Party’s 20th National Congress highlighted Taiwan as an issue that he intends to address, as part of his political mandate ahead of what is expected to be a third term in office. Xi is expected to be confirmed for an unprecedented third term at the 20th National Congress, with the limit on the number of term limits that a Chinese leader can serve having been undone at the 19th National Congress in 2018. The 20th National Congress began on Sunday and is expected to last for several days...
Cross StraitEnglishInternationalOctober 20226 min read

Mixed Background Indigenous Peoples and Their Struggle for Legal Reform

Yo-Ling Chen
In 2017, Nikal Kabala’an, an Amis woman, carried her first newborn daughter to the Taipei City Da’an District Household Registration Office to register her baby’s birth. Nikal and her husband, who is Han, decided to register their child under Nikal’s husband’s Mandarin surname with the intention of simultaneously registering a traditional Amis name to continue her Indigenous heritage into the next generation. However, she was informed at the Household Registration Office that she could not register her child under her husband’s surname and a traditional Amis name, and thus had to choose only one...
EnglishIndigenousRaceSeptember 2022Social Movements17 min read

Biden Comments on Taiwan Commitment Again Walked Back, but Likely to Be Interpreted as of Greater Significance

Brian Hioe
Earlier today, US president Joe Biden confused again with comments on CBS’ “60 Minutes” that suggested US commitment to defend Taiwan in the event of a Chinese attack. Subsequently, as with previous such incidents in which Biden indicated US commitment to defend Taiwan, these comments were quickly walked back by the White House, which stated that US policy on Taiwan had not changed...
EnglishInternationalPoliticsRegional TensionsSeptember 20227 min read