2025/04/09 New Bloom Newsletter
Migrant workers protest in Taipei • voices from the Rohingya • Yaya (Formerly) in Taiwan • thug life • Philippines politics • Indigenous solidarity • contraceptives policy • short fiction
Flowers are blooming, recall petitions are advancing, tariffs are slinging, and Chinese warplanes are circling. It’s springtime in Taipei! But as always, the New Bloom community is here to bring you timely analysis, insightful events, and a welcoming place to gather. Come spend quality time with good friends, invited guests, and kindred spirits this April at our Daybreak space in Wanhua. Even if your glass is half empty these days, stop by and we’ll keep it topped up!
P.S.: We’re shifting the newsletter publish time to be closer to Wednesday evening Taipei Time, rather than midday Taipei Time. Hope you weren’t missing us too much these past few hours!
Latest NEW BLOOM Articles
Search for older articles over at our website
Following Protests, Chinese Influencer Departs Taiwan (Brian Hioe | 2025/03/26)
Frozen by the KMT, NCC Decides Networks Can Continue to Broadcast (Brian Hioe | 2025/03/28)
Food and Drug Administration Declines to List Emergency Contraceptives as a Over the Counter Drug (Brian Hioe | 2025/03/29)
FamilyMart Ramadan Sign Frames All Muslims as Migrant Workers (Brian Hioe | 2025/03/30)
Why Has the KMT Chosen to Advance Referendums Through the Legislature Rather Than Collecting Signatures? (Brian Hioe | 2025/03/31)
Taiwan Affairs Office’s “Hired Thugs” List Reveals Beijing’s Priorities At Present (Brian Hioe | 2025/04/01)
Migrant Workers in Taipei Raise Awareness of Gender Violence, Palestine Through Song and Dance (Girard Mariano Lopez | 2025/04/02)
Taiwan Should Step Up Aid to Myanmar’s Future Government, Not Its Current Military Junta (Brian Hioe | 2025/04/03)
Taipei City Government Criticized After Canceling Documentary Screening on Organ Harvesting in China (Brian Hioe | 2025/04/04)
Review: Ká-sióng, A Collection of Taiwanese Short Fiction (Maya Rubin | 2025/04/05)
性別平等與台灣獨立：以解殖視角看待族群利益與衝突 (Lorraine Pan | 2025/04/06)
The Rodrigo Roa Duterte Case: An Explainer (Josiah David F. Quising | 2025/04/07)
What Next for Taiwan After the Trump Tariffs? (Brian Hioe | 2025/04/08)
The Pro-Unification Left, Anti-War Left, and the “Yaya in Taiwan” Case (Brian Hioe | 2025/04/09)
DAYBREAK Events
Please see our Facebook page and Instagram account for all upcoming and past events
Standing Events
Unless otherwise posted on social, New Bloom’s regular Coffee Hours take place each Saturday afternoon from 14:00 to 18:00 at Daybreak. Come sip a drink, meet friends new and familiar, and catch up with the community and talk of the town.
Times Updated: Unless otherwise posted on social, Trif Trans Bar 翠芙的勸世酒吧 takes place every Friday night (19:30 to 23:30+) at Daybreak. We’re a safe and welcoming meetup for the transgender community and allies, with alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages available. Come feel free to be yourself, regardless of your gender identity or sexual orientation.
Upcoming Events
The Sunflower Movement 11 Years On: A Talk (Friday 2025/04/11) If you’re new to the history of contemporary Taiwan politics and civic protests, Brian’s annual Sunflower talk will be a great primer, along with updates on the present course of the Bluebird Movement.
Coffee Talk with Michael Beltran, Author of The Singing Detainee and the Librarian with One Book (Saturday 2025/04/12) Daybreak welcomes journalist Michael Beltran, who joins our Saturday Coffee Hours for an informal meetup discussing his coverage of Philippines political history. New Bloom community member Olina Bagel 傻瓜貝果 will be selling homemade bagels once more.
Connected Oppressors, Interwoven Struggles: Countering U.S. & China's Imperialism (Sunday 2025/04/13) Brian will join speakers representing Bunan, Ngāti Porou, and Uyghur ethnicities in this webinar discussing anticolonialism and Indigenous solidarity in a time of heightened U.S.-China tensions. Registration is free.
台灣挺人權大遊行 Taiwan March Towards World Solidarity (Sunday 2025/04/13) At the same time as the online webinar, many New Bloom members will be helping to run the next Palestine solidarity march on Sunday afternoon starting at 14:00 at Ximen MRT Station Exit 6!
Voices from the Rohingya: Taiwan's Role in Myanmar's Future (Saturday 2025/04/19) Brian will sit down with Rohingya advocate Noor Azizah for a conversation on the plight of her people, who have been victims of genocide and persecuted for decades, forced to scatter across the world.
Past Events
Trif Trans Bar是跨性別現身日Trans Day of Visibility Edition (Friday 2025/03/28)
Taiwan and Okinawa: An Activist Dialogue (Friday 2025/04/04)
From the Community
We’re testing out a new section featuring links and inspirations as suggested by friends around the New Bloom community. See what everyone’s reading/watching/attending lately around Taipei and beyond.
Darice D. Chang, New Bloom community member
Shed for New Beginnings: Yin Yoga, Meditation, and Journaling Workshop: Rest is resistance — reflect, release, and renew with a replenishing workshop I’m co-organizing that integrates elements of the current 乙巳 Yin Wood Snake Year and Aries season. Community pricing offered for accessibility.
Vegan Asia 無肉市集 12.0: “Taiwan’s first zero-waste allium-free vegan market is having its biggest festival yet in collaboration with Vegan Festival Korea and ビーガングルメ祭り Vegan Gourmet Festival (Japan) — on my birthday weekend! You’ll have to head down to Taichung for this once in a lifetime experience.
Seringai Indonesian Metal Taiwan Tour: This event came onto my feed via the inimitable Joe Henley, fellow journo and vocalist extraordinaire, whose Buddhist Metal Band Dharma will be playing the Taipei leg on 4/12 at Jack’s Studio in Wanhua. Other acts include an entirely Filipino lineup in Kaohsiung: supergroup Juggernaut, metalcore Fragments, and alt rock Novacain. In Taipei, Defeat the Giant of Taichung hardcore fame and Jubah Hitam, an Indonesian metalcore band based in Chiayi will round out the lineup, whilst in Taichung Ska punkers SHOOTUP, Indonesian groove metalers Dream of Death, and metalcore/post-hardcore Xmoraz will complete the set. A great way to support the local music scene for fans of heavy music.
食書之味：主廚書桌: In honor of Earth Month, Mise en Plants, a vegan- and gluten-free select shop and bakery, is partnering with 中華飲食文化基金會 Foundation of Chinese Dietary Culture to hold a month-long library featuring plant based cookbooks from around the world in both English and Chinese. Peaceful Cuisine by Ryoya Takashima, The Vegan Ice Cream Bible by Lucy Allary, and Plants Cookbook《全食物料理哲學》are my top picks!
Chloe Shy: A recent Taipei transplant by way of Toronto, I met Chloe through a work friend Devon who was doing cinematic social videos (colloquially called ‘verticals’) for a mutual client. Her newly launched YouTube features the most calming cinematic shorts that reflect on life and love as mid-twenty-something with a dash of self-improvement thrown in. You might also catch me (and Devon!) in frame in her newer videos (we are cooking up some fun projects — keep an eye out!)
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