2024/04/30 New Bloom Newsletter
More earthquakes, notes on mycelium & imperialism, cannabis decriminalization, anti-nuclear demonstrations, mending Palestine
Hey New Bloom readers! It’s El and Yo-Ling here. It’s been a relatively quiet 2 weeks at DAYBREAK. While in Taiwan… the earth has certainly not been quiet. Many of you must have heard about the big earthquake on April 3rd and since then we are feeling the aftershocks across the island for weeks after. This past weekend, actually on Earth Day (April 22nd) there were so many small (and some big) aftershocks, that many people were feeling dizzy and seasick throughout the day and weekend. El kept finding herself thinking that the earth was shaking, when it was not. We are grateful that Taiwan is earthquake-prepared in terms of infrastructure, and hope that the places most effected, such as Hualien, are able to recover and rebuild. It would be easier if the earth… stopped shaking so much.
But before our usual newsletter content, we wanted to share with you all…
New Bloom member, Aurora Chang (IG, X) drew the above Mycelium illustration and shared notes on imperialism.
mycelium - notes on imperialism
in online leftist spaces the overlap between solidarity for victims of western imperialism and solidarity for victims of non-western imperialism appears diminishingly small. the same is true of activist spaces i'm involved with in real life.
i dislike binaries, but here i use this one - western vs. non-western - because it's the same that many anglophone leftists choose to adopt in their worldview. this binary is violent, a product of a long history of colonialisms and imperialisms that as leftists we are presumed to be most familiar with - that of western european colonial powers and the modern american empire. it is this same worldview that informs the echelon of anti-usa, anti-nato, anti-west leftists who are willing to sacrifice ukrainians, syrians, hong kongers, tibetans, uyghurs, indigenous peoples under russian and chinese occupation, taiwanese etc. at the altar of an imagined, morally pure form of "decolonisation" and "anti-imperialism."
syrian writer leila al-shami writes of an "anti-imperialism of idiots" - that group of self-proclaimed leftists who equate imperialism with the actions of the usa alone, and in the process fall in with fascist states sporting minimally "socialist" aesthetics.
"This pro-fascist left seems blind to any form of imperialism that is non-western in origin. It combines identity politics with egoism. Everything that happens is viewed through the prism of what it means for westerners – only white men have the power to make history." (Leila Al-Shami, 'The anti-imperialism of idiots')
i reject this binary worldview which plagues the anglosphere left. the palestinian cause is linked to the syrian cause is linked to the ukrainian cause is linked to the uyghur cause, and so forth, because imperialism doesn't actually discriminate between western and non-western victims, and the usa, western europe, israel, china, russia etc. can all be as bad as each other.
decolonial and anti-imperialist solidarity means we stand with all oppressed peoples, so we go back to that tired old saying - none of us are free until all of us are free.
New Bloom News
Mid-April saw a number of civil society demonstrations in Taipei. This ranged from a demonstration outside of the Legislative Yuan to call for the decriminalization of cannabis on April 20th, as well as a rally on April 27th to call for increased protections for children on Ketagalan Boulevard in the wake of an incident that led to the death of a one-year old child. Likewise, an anti-nuclear demonstration was held outside of the legislature, on the tenth anniversary of the 427 street occupation in the wake of the Sunflower Movement that drew 50,000. Environmentalists have also called on the DPP to initiate a carbon fee system in an attempt to reduce carbon emissions.
In the meantime, moves by the Chinese government aimed at pressuring Taiwan have continued. China announced shifts in flight routes to bring civilian aircraft close to the median line of the Taiwan Straits, to constrain Taiwan’s international airspace. Moreover, China announced that group tours could resume, but only for individuals from Fujian and only to Taiwan’s outlying island of Mazu. This is probably an attempt at framing the DPP as unwilling to negotiate on the issue of tourism, while crediting a recent delegation of KMT lawmakers that visited China as having allowed for an easing of tensions. Pension reform has also been raised again as a party-splitting issue between pan-Green and pan-Blue camps.
DAYBREAK Events
(Please see our Facebook page for all upcoming and past events)
04/19/2024 ~❈~深 夜 書 展 NOX LIBRIS~❈~
New Bloom member, Peter Freestone, recently returned back to Taiwan and when he came back, him and Brian tackled the huge project of re-organizing all the Zines at the DAYBREAK space. Peter also re-organized the first floor of DAYBREAK in a way that has made it feel much more open! They both worked hard into the wee hours and now we have a Zine library ready for folks to check out when they’re in the space. Some Zines are up for sale too. We have zines for display and for sale, there are sections on Hong Kong, SE Asia, Korea, Okinawa, and Japan, many are from Taiwan. The goal if the zine library is to build it up so we have a collection from all over Asia and the world. Next time you’re visiting DAYBREAK or have any interest in mailing in some Zines, you can email us at newbloommag@gmail.com.
The night had music played by artists and friends, including New Bloom’s very own BRAINLESS (@brian.hioe), LEISURE TIME (@anceau.pl), PIPI (@pipifreestone). We also had delicious sandwiches made by @enroutetaipei.
04/20/2024 Fashion Revolution Mend in Public Workshop for Palestine
The goal of the mend in public workshop was for folks to bring in both repairable clothes and any unsellable or torn fabrics in colors representing Palestine to both mend one’s own clothes and contribute to creating Palestine flags as part of a community effort.
Here is a flag the workshop created together!
04/23/2024 Community Connects: CardsForHumanity Edition
An event summary by the event creator, Rosalyn: On April 23, a group of about 15 people gathered to play a card game devised by Rosalyn. The card game borrows from the mechanism of "Cards Against Humanity", but the purpose was to help participants find divergent solutions to their life problems. We started in pairs, and each person shared with their partner a few life problems that they were currently facing. Then, the pairs followed up by generating solutions from the left brain (logical, linear, literal) and right brain (holistic, emotional, embodied). The game portion involved working in larger groups, where we pulled random problems from a hat, and picked the most ideal approach from a combination of random solutions offered by participants. Some creative solutions to life problems involved unconventional approaches that surprised us, ranging from "taking a sound bath" to "unlearning what doesn't serve you" to "just take a poop". At the end of the event, some participants thought that it was very affirming to share their life challenges in a pair, before having their struggles validated by a larger group.
04/25/2024 Contractor or Employee for INGOS: Know Your Rights
The workshop ended up not happening, however, we wanted to share this any way on the newsletter. Is this a topic you’re interested in? Would you want to see an online workshop? If so, feel free to reach out to us newbloommag@gmail.com. We’re interested in gauging interest, perhaps we can try to deliver this workshop again, next time accessible to folks outside of Taipei too (online).
Thanks for tuning in! Happy Spring 🌸🌸🌸 and Happy May Day / Labor Day ! We’ll cover more on that in our next issue.
Looking Forward
(Please see our Facebook page or Instagram for all upcoming and past events)
(Confirmed) May 7th — You Should Feel Grateful: Taiwanese American Children and Emotional Detachment. The next installment of Intergenerational Trauma of Taiwanese Americans hosted by Evon Chiu.
(Confirmed) May 11th — 1,000 Days Later: Experiences of Afghan Women and Activists After Taliban Rule.
(Confirmed) May 17th —《幸彤在監獄》放映會 | “She’s in Jail” Documentary Screening. About Chow Hang-tung, Hong Kong activist who has been held in jail for nearly two and a half years now. In 2021, because of organizing commemoration activities for the Tiananmen Square Massacre, she faced charges regarding spreading online rumors and calling on others to participate in commemoration activities and so was sentenced to fifteen months in jail. She later faced charges for “inciting state subversion.”
(Confirmed) May 18th — T&N Party 跨性別/非二元派對: 一週年場. On May 18th, DAYBREAK will be hosting the one year anniversary of the Trans & Non-Binary party that is co-hosted by @triftransbar, @twqueermargins, @taiwannonbinary, and New Bloom.
(Confirmed) May 21st — Indigenous Resurgence and the Unfulfilled Promises of Taiwan’s Basic Law on Indigenous Peoples. A public talk in English by Professor Scott E. Simon.
(Confirmed) May 22nd — Stories of Taiwan: Short Story Reading Club 台灣短篇小説讀書會. Keep an eye out for the FB Event when it is posted. Join the Facebook Group if you want to learn more / stay updated.
🗓️日期 Date:2024/5/22 (三)19:00-21:00📕文獻 Reading:《風頭水尾》"Where the Water Ends and the Wind Begins" | 呂赫若 Lu Ho-jo, trans by Christopher Ahn
📍地點Location:Daybreak @ New Bloom 台北市萬華區艋舺大道110號1樓