The storm over the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant (核四) tests not only the government, but also the prospects for democracy in Taiwan. We need to break through our old ways of thinking and analyze the matter from the standpoint of social development and political psychology.
In the West, the issue of nuclear energy is no longer confined to a traditional polarization with environmental protection at one extreme and economics at the other. Rather, discussions focus on value conflict and scientific controversy. Civil society is gradually replacing traditional idealism with a more rational, knowledge-based self-reflection.
Discussions in Taiwan are often confined to efficiency in economic productivity, ignoring difficulties over the verification of knowledge. Professionals are consulted in all crises, ignoring the fact that professional application of knowledge in society is different from application in strictly-controlled labs. Also, these professionals don't always understand the wider issues.
From the standpoint of traditional Chinese collectivist thinking the sacrifice of a minority in exchange for the progress of a majority is legitimate. This is in serious conflict, however, with the progressive view of Western society which emphasizes human dignity. Risk appraisal of nuclear energy in Western society has progressed to the point that "prediction of misfortunes takes priority over prediction of fortune." Public referendums are used to minimize the differences between the decision makers and those affected by their decisions.
The issue of whether the plant should be built has been buried by the wrestling match between professionalism and politics. What kind of values will be adopted by Taiwan? This is an issue ignored by the media, whose position has made the controversy over the plant even more unclear.
In the West, individuals are given the chance to participate in decision-making through referendums, which energize civil society. Can a view based on human integrity under which no risk is tolerated be adopted in Taiwan? This is an index by which Western society judges the progress of a civilization. The approach attaches equal importance to the value judgements of non-professionals and the risk appraisals of professionals, acknowledging the limitations of human technology. It allows citizens to make a collective decision, and rationally appraise benefits and risks.
In contrast, the Taiwanese media continues to rely on traditional and simple logic, subconsciously expecting the administration and the president to play the enlightened patriarch and perfect arbitrator. They ignore the fact that civil society bears the risks collectively.
The government cannot do everything for us. Let the people think and decide for themselves. This is compatible with the spirit of democracy. Perhaps some people may feel that Taiwanese voters don't understand democracy well enough and are unqualified to participate in a referendum modeled after Europe or the US. But civil society is itself a process, not an easily attainable ideal. We need to give voters the room to grow and the chance to participate. In the West, referendums have become a mechanism to supplement major flaws in the parliamentary system. In Taiwan, we remain hesitant due to an inferiority complex. Relying on professionals and government leaders to lead us to the promised land reflects an immature attitude and neglects our civic duties. A participatory democracy requires a referendum mechanism.
Will the ruling party continue to be bound by the traditional political vision, carrying all the risks and responsibilities? Or will it follow Western countries in having the people participate in decision-making?
Lee Weng-ying is the director of the department of social development at the DPP.
Could Asia be on the verge of a new wave of nuclear proliferation? A look back at the early history of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), which recently celebrated its 75th anniversary, illuminates some reasons for concern in the Indo-Pacific today. US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin recently described NATO as “the most powerful and successful alliance in history,” but the organization’s early years were not without challenges. At its inception, the signing of the North Atlantic Treaty marked a sea change in American strategic thinking. The United States had been intent on withdrawing from Europe in the years following
My wife and I spent the week in the interior of Taiwan where Shuyuan spent her childhood. In that town there is a street that functions as an open farmer’s market. Walk along that street, as Shuyuan did yesterday, and it is next to impossible to come home empty-handed. Some mangoes that looked vaguely like others we had seen around here ended up on our table. Shuyuan told how she had bought them from a little old farmer woman from the countryside who said the mangoes were from a very old tree she had on her property. The big surprise
The issue of China’s overcapacity has drawn greater global attention recently, with US Secretary of the Treasury Janet Yellen urging Beijing to address its excess production in key industries during her visit to China last week. Meanwhile in Brussels, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen last week said that Europe must have a tough talk with China on its perceived overcapacity and unfair trade practices. The remarks by Yellen and Von der Leyen come as China’s economy is undergoing a painful transition. Beijing is trying to steer the world’s second-largest economy out of a COVID-19 slump, the property crisis and
Former president Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) trip to China provides a pertinent reminder of why Taiwanese protested so vociferously against attempts to force through the cross-strait service trade agreement in 2014 and why, since Ma’s presidential election win in 2012, they have not voted in another Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) candidate. While the nation narrowly avoided tragedy — the treaty would have put Taiwan on the path toward the demobilization of its democracy, which Courtney Donovan Smith wrote about in the Taipei Times in “With the Sunflower movement Taiwan dodged a bullet” — Ma’s political swansong in China, which included fawning dithyrambs