Taipei at Daybreak

An Asian American coming-of-age novel set amongst social protests of the early 2010s in East Asia.

In 2014, a veteran of Occupy Wall Street, QQ arrives in Taiwan and finally finds what he’s been looking for in the Sunflower Movement – a grassroots campaign of militant young people that looks set to overthrow the existing government.

Setting up an online newspaper, Daybreak, to represent the movement to the outside world, QQ also battles with self-destructive, violent impulses that drive him to the frontlines of protests. His nihilistic streak is fed by those around him, a host of other citizens, activists and journalists who travel together through the depths of the Taiwanese night, when the ghosts of its repressive history loom large.

Will QQ manage to outrun his own self destructive impulses on the streets, or will the emptiness he feels eventually consume him? Will he find the connection he needs, or will V, the mysterious, destructive partner who haunts his dreams, claim him as her own? Will QQ be able to confront and survive his own family's complicity in the era of the White Terror?

A unique blend or reportage, memoir and meditation on the unseen forces, personal and political, that propel people to the very edge, Taipei at Daybreak is a coming-of-age novel like no other, following tumultuous conflict both outside and in, and told through a spare style with flashes of dark poetry."A brilliant and disturbing depiction of an alienated young Taiwanese American activist as he roams from New York to Japan to Taiwan. Stylistically in the tradition of Camus and Dostoyevsky, this novel makes its own mark by setting the story against the backdrop of a pivotal moment in contemporary Taiwanese history."
– Shawna Yang Ryan, author of Green Island

"Taipei at Daybreak articulates a groundbreaking genre of activist memoir that is both passionate and devastating. It captures the Taiwanese American diasporic voice from Occupy Wall Street to the Sunflower Movement."
– Wen Liu, author of Feeling Asian American: Racial Flexibility between Assimilation and Oppression

"An anarchist account at its most mature, this novel delves into the heart of political struggle with both insight and hope." 
– Netiwit Chotiphatphaisal, Thai activist

"An insightful portrait of a Taiwanese American activist caught between worlds and battling inner turmoil.  Set against the backdrop of transformative protest movements, it’s a sombering tale of identity, purpose, and the power of media in turbulent times."
– Clarissa Wei, author of Made in Taiwan: Recipes and Stories from the Island Nation

“With so much global interest in Taiwan politics today, Hioe cuts through the noise in a much-needed way. This story presents Taiwan through a fictional lens based in real history that goes far beyond description. Hioe is able to tell the world about Taiwan, its politics, and its activism, without the over-romanticism or glamorization of its dire complexities.”
– Lev Nachman, co-author of Taiwan: A Contested Democracy Under Threat, Assistant Professor of Political Science at National Taiwan University

"A startling page-turner that dives into the complexities of political activism and personal desire.”
– Ta-Wei Chi, author of The Membranes

"Blending personal reflection with sharp political insight, Taipei at Daybreak offers a perceptive exploration of coming of age within Taiwanese activist movements"
– Michelle Kuo, author of Reading with Patrick

"Hioe’s writing is direct and assured as it takes readers through scene-by-scene breakdowns of Taiwan’s recent movements, sketching out urban scenes in vivid detail and raising illuminating questions about community, alienation, and the boxes — both literal and psychological — that trap us"
– Karen Cheung, author of The Impossible City: A Hong Kong Memoir

"Taipei at Daybreak is a vivid account of twenty-first century Taiwanese youth activism from the front lines, propelled by rage and ennui. From the perspective of a narrator who is perpetually both an insider and an outsider, Hioe digs deep into the roots and emotions of radical activism and the desire for a different world"
– Wendy Cheng, author of Island X: Taiwanese Student Migrants, Campus Spies, and Cold War Activism

“You don’t need to live in a foreign land to feel disconnected from the image of yourself you’ve constructed. We might speak the same language as our friends, yet feel like the only listener is the shadow lurking within. This is a book for those who, despite having so much, often feel like orphans of the world.”
– Johnson Yeung, Hong Kong activist

"An evocative exploration of identity, belonging, and dislocation. Unlike many contemporary Asian American novels, it refuses nostalgic depictions of Asia, presenting instead a raw, vivid portrayal of life on both sides of the Pacific, offering readers an Asian perspective that is sharp, unromantic, and refreshingly original."
– Alex Chow, Hong Kong activist

"If the story of a nation is told through literature and cinema, then Hioe offers plenty of references for those new to Taiwan: from Orphan of Asia to Taipei People; from Hou Hsiao-Hsien to Edward Yang. Experts on Taiwan will enjoy the vignettes of a Taipei life they know well."
– Emily Y. Wu, co-founder of Ghost Island MediaBrian Hioe (丘琦欣) is a Taiwanese American writer, translator, activist, and DJ based out of Taipei. In 2014, he was one of the founders of New Bloom Magazine (破土), an online magazine covering activism and youth politics in Taiwan and the Asia Pacific that was founded after the Sunflower Movement, which he was a participant in as a student activist. His writing has been published in The Guardian, The Nation, Dissent, Art Forum, and other publications, and media appearances range from Democracy Now to Netflix’s Midnight Asia.