After it was revealed that Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Taipei City Councilor Angela Ying (應曉薇) had praised the Taipei City Government for hosing down a park in Wanhua District (萬華) to drive our homeless people — not quite the Christmas spirit — her comments and the issue of homeless people has set off intense public debate. While many have said that spraying the park with water on a cold winter evening displays a cruel lack of humanity, Ying does not, in fact, lack compassion — she has long worked for the welfare of prison inmates and is a board member of an animal protection association.
Yet, how could someone working to protect animal rights promote such cruel treatment of a disadvantaged group such as the homeless? Ying’s subsequent apologies have done little to stem the wave of criticism.
Wanhua has long been seen as the “home” of the homeless, prostitutes and small-time gangsters, affecting community development. Lately, the number of homeless people has increased, making it more difficult to deal with them. It is understandable that concerned local residents have asked city councilors and the city government to deal with the issue. However, Ying’s statements, both in the Taipei City Council and on her Facebook page, are brimming with prejudice and animosity, as just two examples show:
“Most homeless people in Wanhua drink and gamble every day, and some of them have HIV/AIDS”; and, “In the past few years, more than one of them [the homeless] have been executed. They have raped and killed several people; among them, the youngest, a three-year-old and a woman.”
Homelessness is a seemingly unavoidable issue for any society or urban metropolis. It does not represent the more glorious aspects of a society, but the homeless cannot be swept away or gotten rid of. People become homeless for many reasons: 1) they’ve stopped looking for a job following long-term unemployment; 2) they’re looking for a job, but cannot find one; 3) they suffer from mental or physical impairment; 4) they oppose social norms, and so on. US studies have shown that homeless people are not necessarily low-income earners with a poor educational background, have a low IQ or have difficulties fitting in, nor have their family or social support networks necessarily broken down. Many used to be managers, engineers, accountants, lawyers or teachers who became homeless when their businesses failed, they were laid off or their families broke up — big blows that weaken their ability to cope and result in mental distress or psychological breakdown.
Taiwan’s economy has gone through major changes, unemployment has risen, salaries have dropped, the middle class has come under pressure, housing prices have shot through the roof and many people have lost their jobs and their homes. Anyone can lose their home, and according to data from the Ministry of the Interior, the number of homeless people in Taiwan increased by 67 percent over the past 10 years. This is both a terrifying number and reality. Still, the government has never dealt directly with the issue or tried to improve the situation. Instead, Ying urged authorities to “point the water hose at the homeless,” reflecting a neglect of the government’s duties.
The recent debate has made people take another look at the homeless. Ying has served as a mirror through which we can see the darker side of humanity, but her remarks also stirred a lot of compassion and hopes to lend a helping hand. The government should stop ignoring the issue by sweeping it under the rug and instead begin to work together with private organizations, churches, temple associations and community organizations to help the homeless through job counseling, mental health therapy, care placement, medical treatment and other means of social support, rather than viewing them as a cancer on society.
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
As former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) wrapped up his visit to the People’s Republic of China, he received his share of attention. Certainly, the trip must be seen within the full context of Ma’s life, that is, his eight-year presidency, the Sunflower movement and his failed Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement, as well as his eight years as Taipei mayor with its posturing, accusations of money laundering, and ups and downs. Through all that, basic questions stand out: “What drives Ma? What is his end game?” Having observed and commented on Ma for decades, it is all ironically reminiscent of former US president Harry