Politics

Domestic and international politics of Taiwan

Taiwanese man attending board game competition in China arrested and accused of Taiwan independence separatist activities

Taiwanese man Yang Zhiyuan arrested and facing charges in China
Politics 
Phillip Charlier 1 Comment , ,

A Taiwanese man attending a board game competition in Wenzhou, China, has been arrested for being a “Taiwanese Separatist” as China attempts to strangle the democratic nation with a range of punitive economic sanctions, and a military exercise simulating the communist government’s ability to enforce a blockade of the island, cutting it off from the outside world. According to Chinese state media, the National Security Agency of Wenzhou City, Zhejiang Province arrested Yang Zhiyuan (楊智淵) Wednesday, and detained him on

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Beijing’s big bucks billboards display chilling effect on free speech in Australia

Billboard design for Drew Pavlou Democratic Alliance campaign designed by Taiwan English News
International Politics 
Phillip Charlier 0 Comment , , ,

Australian Senate candidate Drew Pavlou claims that Australian billboard advertising companies have refused to display his ad campaign out of fear of retaliation by the Chinese government, and that Beijing-funded billboard ads went up instead. Pavlou’s ad was designed to protest against the upcoming Beijing Winter Olympics being held in a country with serious human rights issues, and depicted works by Chinese dissident artist Badiucao. Bishopp Outdoor Advertising had agreed to place the ad for $3,000. But yesterday, a representative

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Taitung County councillor goes naked in support of vaccines for medics

Taitung County Councillor Gu Zhicheng, naked
Politics 
Phillip Charlier 1 Comment , ,

A Taitung County Councillor has come under criticism after uploading pictures of himself naked but for a surgical mask and a piece of A4 paper covering his private parts with a message “support doctors and nurses, want vaccines, come on!” According to reports, Gu Zhicheng (古志成), of the Koumintang Party(KMT/Chinese Nationalist Party), uploaded the picture to a private Line group. However, a member of the group leaked the picture to Facebook, where it has been subject to wide condemnation. Gu

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CCP plutocrat offers Hong Kong $1,000,000 reward to rat-out protest icon “eye girl” believed to be in Taiwan

reward poster for Hong Kong activist
Protest 
Phillip Charlier 2 Comments , ,

The Vice-Chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, former Chief Executive of Hong Kong, Leung Chun-ying has raised the reward offered for information on the whereabouts of a young woman who became a symbol for protesters in Hong Kong in 2019. The existing reward of HK$400,000 was raised to HK$1 million (US$128,820) via Leung’s “803 Fund” after a newspaper report revealed, yesterday, May 25, that the “broken eye girl” as Chinese language reports call her,

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How China undermines Taiwan’s national anti-COVID success with local-government actors

Ko Wen-je and Hou You-yi the twin city mayors
Politics 
Phillip Charlier 1 Comment , ,

Taiwan managed to keep the lid on COVID by being smarter than most other countries, more wary perhaps, by being closer to the original source of the virus, and most importantly by avoiding mass testing, using technologies that were questionable for use for even for well-known disease agents. During early days of the outbreak, in 2020, Taiwan’s Ministry of Health and Welfare’s Central Epidemic Control Center (CECC) decided to implement border controls, put people into a 14 day quarantine upon

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“I don’t need therapy, I just need to go to Taiwan” a big hit in online sales, so legislator features his own mug

I don't need therapy, I just need to go to Taiwan, Taiwan supports frontline health heroes mug
Politics 
Phillip Charlier 0 Comment , ,

A series of products featuring the words “I don’t need therapy, I just need to go to Taiwan” has generated a viral level of sales on online shopping sites recently, so a Taiwanese legislator had a mug designed with the addition “Taiwan support frontline health heroes.” With much of the world gripped in fear, and locked down with restrictions due to the COVID-19 pandemic, a design company in the United States launched a coffee mug featuring the words “I don’t

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Demonstration in Taipei Sunday in support of Hong Kong democracy activists detained in China

poster for protests against detention of democracy activists
Protest 
Phillip Charlier 0 Comment , ,

Human rights groups are organizing a demonstration to be held in Taipei City, Sunday, October 25, in support of 12 Hong Kong democracy activists who are being held in China after attempting to flee to Taiwan by sea, August 23. The Taiwan Human Rights Promotion Association, the Civil Justice Reform Foundation, and other civil rights groups are organizing the Taiwan Supports Hong Kong Parade. Organizers have called on supporters to gather at 2:00 pm, October 25, at SOGO Square, outside

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Taiwan’s ‘Mr Democracy’ Lee Teng-hui dies at 97

former President Lee Teng-hui and current President Tsai Ing-wen
Politics 
Phillip Charlier 0 Comment ,

Taiwan’s first native-born president, and first democratically-elected president, passed away in hospital this evening, July 30, after a long bout with illness. Former President Lee, 97, was hospitalized February 8 after choking while drinking a glass of milk. Lee’s condition deteriorated after suffering a sudden heart-related event on February 17, after which doctors performed CPR and put Lee on a respirator. After 174 days in hospital, Lee passed away at 7:24 this evening. Taipei Veterans General Hospital held a press

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City Councilor breaks 53 chopsticks with his butt after losing bet on Kaohsiung City Mayoral recall

city councilor breaks chopsticks with his butt
Politics 
Phillip Charlier 0 Comment , ,

A Taipei City councilor broke 53 chopsticks between his buttocks today, after betting that a recent election to recall the Kaohsiung City Mayor would get no more than 400,000 yes votes. Before the June 6 recall election, the “Cant Stop This Party” councilor Chiu Wei-chieh (邱威傑) promised that if there were several tens of thousands of votes over his prediction he would break several chopsticks with his ass. Unfortunately for Chiu, Mayor Han was ousted with 939,090 votes in favor

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Kaohsiung City Speaker dies after mayor defeated in recall election

Hsu kun-yuan
Politics 
Phillip Charlier 0 Comment , ,

Kaohsiung City Speaker Hsu Kun-yuan (許崑源) was found dead this evening, June 6, after his party suffered a severe defeat in an election to recall the mayor. Hsu, 63, is believed to have fallen from his 17th-floor apartment. The recalled mayor, Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜) , was shocked and saddened by Hsu’s death, Liberty Times reported, and called on his supporters to calm down. “Politics is temporary; life still has to go on,” Han said. Hsu’s brother Hsu Kun-long was a

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Landslide victory for DPP sets records for democratic elections in Taiwan

President of Taiwan, Tsai Ing-wen
Politics 
Phillip Charlier 0 Comment ,

Today’s Presidential and legislative elections saw a major victory for Taiwan’s Democratic Progressive Party, and President Tsai Ing-wen, seeing records broken for voter turnout, and total votes for a President. Many districts saw record voter turnouts as young people in particular, traditionally considered complacent when in comes to voting, made efforts to return to their hometowns to place a vote. Taiwan does not allow absentee voting, and people are generally registered to vote at their parent’s residence until they purchase

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