Stop global warming now
The unpredictable and incredible impact of climate change is appalling. Our planet is endangered. Burning oil and coal in an abusive manner are key causes of climate change. Moreover, the exploitation of natural resources by human beings has worsened the scenario, destroying the environment.
The Arctic and Antarctic ice caps are melting at an unimaginable speed and glaciers have been whittled down to mere ice blocks. If they continue to melt, sea levels will rise 6m in 20 years, with grave consequences for Taiwan.
In a BBC report last year about the Maldives, the head of conservation at a local resort said there would “be more tidal surges, more swells, and more storms” because of climate change.
“Tidal surges will not only increase the risk of houses and communities being flooded, but will also result in a higher level of salt water on local vegetation — which will impact on food production too,” the resort staffer said.
Because of climate change, a very bad future is waiting for us. Most pitifully, a large number of people could become homeless as a result of climate change.
The disasters happening around the world should teach us that we cannot ignore climate change.
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has held conferences in the past few years on research concerning climate change.
It has also publicized the goals of the Kyoto Protocol to the whole world.
One IPCC report identifies 13 major cities worldwide that will be submerged by seawater in 20 years.
Although Taiwan is not a signatory of the Kyoto Protocol, along with countries like Bangladesh, it could be among the first to see parts of its population uprooted by rising sea levels.
Taiwan should be concerned about weather phenomena such as El Nino and its impact.
Beware of the Maya belief that the world will end in 2012. This is not alarmist — it is something for all humans to ponder.
After all, governments worldwide should undertake proactive measures to combat climate change — not just write out plans on paper. Actions speak louder than words.
MELODY WU
Jhonghe, Taipei County
Consumers want safe goods
Common sense tells us that no product or service will be rejected as long as it is deemed necessary and safe for consumption.
If my products or services were rejected, I would do some self-reflecting, after which I would determine to improve myself and move on rather than continuing to voice my deep regret.
The US will always have the potential to improve itself, and Taiwan will continue to do business with the US.
MICHAEL TSAI
Tainan
No more scaremongering
The development and implementation of the vaccination program against A(H1N1) influenza is a remarkable and most discouraging example of disorganization and unpreparedness.
The Centers for Disease Control may have thought it was doing everything in its power to protect the public, but it has left the job half done. The lack of scientific support for some of the side effects that have been reported and the failure to account for the more serious medical conditions and deaths that have occurred within days or weeks of receiving a vaccination have resulted in a circus of misinformation for which the public will suffer.
While it is true that the government has failed to respond adequately to the matter of side effects, the media are to blame for irresponsible reports on claims regarding side effects.
The media’s concentration on unsubstantiated reports is regrettable. Yet its insinuation is that in absence of medical proof, the severe side effects and deaths must have been caused by the vaccination.
The message is that this could happen to you or your child if you proceed with the vaccination. The media has scared the public to death without reason and has scared them into inaction.
The government was wrong — but the media’s culpability is much worse. It has told only half the story, spread fear without scientific grounds and almost completely stopped government efforts to halt the spread of swine flu.
PETER RYAN BRADY
Taipei
Chinese agents often target Taiwanese officials who are motivated by financial gain rather than ideology, while people who are found guilty of spying face lenient punishments in Taiwan, a researcher said on Tuesday. While the law says that foreign agents can be sentenced to death, people who are convicted of spying for Beijing often serve less than nine months in prison because Taiwan does not formally recognize China as a foreign nation, Institute for National Defense and Security Research fellow Su Tzu-yun (蘇紫雲) said. Many officials and military personnel sell information to China believing it to be of little value, unaware that
Before 1945, the most widely spoken language in Taiwan was Tai-gi (also known as Taiwanese, Taiwanese Hokkien or Hoklo). However, due to almost a century of language repression policies, many Taiwanese believe that Tai-gi is at risk of disappearing. To understand this crisis, I interviewed academics and activists about Taiwan’s history of language repression, the major challenges of revitalizing Tai-gi and their policy recommendations. Although Taiwanese were pressured to speak Japanese when Taiwan became a Japanese colony in 1895, most managed to keep their heritage languages alive in their homes. However, starting in 1949, when the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) enacted martial law
“Si ambulat loquitur tetrissitatque sicut anas, anas est” is, in customary international law, the three-part test of anatine ambulation, articulation and tetrissitation. And it is essential to Taiwan’s existence. Apocryphally, it can be traced as far back as Suetonius (蘇埃托尼烏斯) in late first-century Rome. Alas, Suetonius was only talking about ducks (anas). But this self-evident principle was codified as a four-part test at the Montevideo Convention in 1934, to which the United States is a party. Article One: “The state as a person of international law should possess the following qualifications: a) a permanent population; b) a defined territory; c) government;
The central bank and the US Department of the Treasury on Friday issued a joint statement that both sides agreed to avoid currency manipulation and the use of exchange rates to gain a competitive advantage, and would only intervene in foreign-exchange markets to combat excess volatility and disorderly movements. The central bank also agreed to disclose its foreign-exchange intervention amounts quarterly rather than every six months, starting from next month. It emphasized that the joint statement is unrelated to tariff negotiations between Taipei and Washington, and that the US never requested the appreciation of the New Taiwan dollar during the
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