Brian Hioe was one of the founding editors of New Bloom, a freelance writer on social movements and politics, and an occasional translator.

The News Lens
Date: 2017/12/25
By: Brian Hioe

Protests as large and aggressive have not been witnessed in Taipei since the 2014

Credit: Brian Hioe

Sunflower Movement.

Protests against planned labor law changes by the administration of President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) that took place Dec. 23 may be historic for Taiwanese labor and mark the start a new era of labor militancy. There probably has not been a protest as dramatic or intense since the Sunflower Movement, even if protests ended with a number of arrests.

Protests began at noon in front of Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) headquarters and went on until well past midnight. Three hours of speeches and performances took place from noon until 3 p.m. in front of DPP headquarters, at which point, according to organizers, demonstrators numbered over 10,000. Of particular note were the high number of student participants and the numerous, creative artworks that were featured, including an art installation mocking Tsai Ing-wen, a satire of the Liberty Times, and Buddhist-themed performance art mocking comments by Premier William Lai (賴清德) that underpaid workers should see karmic merit for good deeds as making up for their low salaries.
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