Taipei’s 228 Parade, Feb. 28, 2023 Originally published in Commonweal The Taipei sun was already scorching at ten in the morning, and the tall palm trees lining the street teased us with their shade. We were waiting for the start of the “228” parade, an annual event that commemorates the February 28, 1947 massacre in Taiwan. The crowd was mostly composed of young Taiwanese NGO workers in their twenties and thirties, all dressed in black. We lined up in two columns divided by a long white banner. Then our leader, a petite young woman wearing an oversized black t-shirt and baggy cargo pants, sol ..read more

Hippity hop!  Sunday welcomes year of the rabbit, putting to rest the ferociousness of last year’s tiger.  The invasion of Ukraine, various mass shootings in the United States, and the assassination of former Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe, the world is ready to silence the tiger’s roar. With the rabbit’s gentle nature, this year should prove to be much less dramatic. But 2023 is more than just year of the rabbit, it is year of the water rabbit!  Every year has it’s own element and 2023’s element is water.  At the same time each of the 12 zodiac animals has its own inn ..read more

Originally published in Commonweal Beijing, China, November 27, 2022 (REUTERS/Alamy Stock Photo) Three days before China’s twentieth Communist Party Congress in October, a man dressed in an orange jumpsuit and yellow hard hat unfurled two large banners on a highway overpass in northwest Beijing. “No Covid test, we want to eat. No lockdown, we want freedom. No lies, we want dignity. No Cultural Revolution, we want reform. No supreme leaders, we want votes. Don’t be slaves, be citizens,” one of them proclaimed.  “Remove dictator and national traitor Xi Jinping” read the other, a shocking cr ..read more

Originally published in Commonweal About three years ago, before the onset of the COVID pandemic, I attended a talk in New York City given by a Hong Kong activist. Back then the city was deep in the throes of massive pro-democracy protests, with millions of Hong Kongers taking to the streets and enduring the sticky summer heat to oppose the increasing authoritarianism of the Chinese government. Despite his obvious weariness, the speaker talked hopefully about the prospective outcome of the demonstrations: the rule of law, freedom of speech, and human rights would prevail over China’s attempt ..read more

Now former U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights, Michelle Bachelet On August 31, 2022, after a year-plus delay, criticism from the human rights community, and a Chinese government-run trip to China to “investigate” atrocities, the U.N. Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) issued its long-awaited report (“report” or “U.N. Xinjiang report”) about the Chinese government’s human rights violations in China’s predominately Muslim province of Xinjiang.  With high drama, then-Human Rights Commissioner, Michelle Bachelet, published the report 13 minutes before she was to ste ..read more

There was nothing ordinary about the ticket check.  As soon as I approached the counter, the usual giddiness of seeing an opening night performance vanished. Separated from my friends, I was met with the angry scowl of a woman in a military uniform who took my ticket and barked at me: “Name!” “Elizabeth” I said. “Do you have singing talent!” “No.” “Do you have managerial experience!” “Yes.” With one last suspicious glare, the woman flicked my ticket back at me and shouted “go,” pointing in the direction of an open doorway.  I sheepishly scurried to the next room. Thus marked the beg ..read more

Originally published in Commonweal Early last December, a group of nine British lawyers and human-rights specialists gathered in a wood-paneled room under the glass dome of Church House, near Westminster Abbey in downtown London. They were there to do what the United Nations and its member states have so far failed to accomplish: conduct a thorough review of five years of evidence regarding the Chinese government’s persecution of its minority Muslim Uyghur population in the province of Xinjiang, a sprawling semi-autonomous territory in northwest China. On December 9, after hearing days’ worth ..read more

Enough with the head-down, slow-and-steady hard work of the year of the Ox. On Tuesday, the world will shake off its yoke and welcome the king of all beasts: the tiger!  Powerful, daring, bold, expect 2022 to be exciting and positive.  Even Raymond Lo, normally the Debbie Downers of feng shui masters, is excited!  As Lo points out, this isn’t just any ordinary tiger year. With 2022 being a water year, this is year of the water tiger!  And why does this make Raymond Lo burst with positivity?  Because the tiger’s inner element (every zodiac animal has its own internal e ..read more

Enough with the head-down, slow-and-steady hard work of the year of the Ox. On Tuesday, the world will shake off its yoke and welcome the king of all beasts: the tiger!  Powerful, daring, bold, expect 2022 to be exciting and positive.  Even Raymond Lo, normally the Debbie Downers of feng shui masters, is excited!  As Lo points out, this isn’t just any ordinary tiger year. With 2022 being a water year, this is year of the water tiger!  And why does this make Raymond Lo burst with positivity?  Because the tiger’s inner element (every zodiac animal has its own internal e ..read more

Last Monday, the White House announced that, because of the “ongoing genocide and crimes against humanity in Xinjiang and other human rights abuses,” President Joe Biden will not be sending any diplomatic, government or other official representatives to the Beijing Winter Olympic Games.  With the U.S.’ announcement, other countries and territories have followed suit. New Zealand, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, Scotland, Kosovo and Japan all have announced similar diplomatic boycotts.  To its credit, Lithuania preceded the United States in announcing a diplomatic boycott by three ..read more