The Taiwan Gazette translates and publishes original reporting from Taiwan, Hong Kong and China. Our goal with the platform is simple: We want original reporting from the Sinosphere to have a wider impact on global civil society.
On July 1, 2020, the UK announced the expansion of rights for BNO passport holders, arguing that the Hong Kong National Security Law is a “clear and serious” violation of the Sino-British Joint Declaration. For Hongkongers born before 1997, the BNO now offers a new "escape" route. What can the BNO inform us about the formation of Hongkonger identities and the geohistorical entanglements between Hong Kong, the UK, and China?
On June 12, 2019, Hong Kong protestors gathered outside the Legislative Council, attempting to postpone the extradition bill’s second reading. The proposed bill was criticized for opening a potential legal channel for China to intimidate or arrest those critical of its rule. Protestors were stormed by rubber bullets and more than 100 rounds of tear gas. Such police brutality shocked the Hong Kong society at the early stage of the anti-ELAB protests.
On February 26, 2021, the Chinese General Administration of Customs unexpectedly announced a ban on imports of Taiwanese pineapple starting from March 1. March is the export season for Taiwan's famous Golden Diamond Pineapple. The Chinese ban came as a shock to the Taiwanese industry. How did Taiwan’s overreliance on the Chinese market come to be? Who gets to decide the fate of Taiwanese pineapples?
During WWII, there were hundreds of Taiwanese living in Southeast Asia. They were regarded Japanese, lost everything overnight and were detained in internment camps. Shu-min Chung (鍾淑敏) had dug up historical materials in search of the Taiwanese in internment camps, trying to fill in the forgotten history of overseas Taiwanese.
Last year, the Taiwan Railways Administration imposed a ban on public sitting in the lobby of Taipei Main Station, citing COVID-19 concerns. This sitting ban raised urgent questions: Who has claims over this space? What might be the historical and ideological forces shaping the usage of this space? And why is Taipei Main Station associated with the signs of “Free China” and the rise of “Little Indonesia”?
The Taiwan Gazette screened the documentary film Our Youth in Taiwan from March 8 to 14, 2021. We sat down with University of Toronto Professor Michelle Cho to discuss Taiwan-China geopolitical relations and the usage of “worlding” within the context of the film.
