Actions louder than words
President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) opinions as published by the Washington Times in “The Diaoyutai Islands: ROC territory,” begin and end with references to former and future presidents of Taiwan. Indeed, the first and last sentences reveal the writer’s true purpose of his commentary: to use a reputable foreign publication to chide former president Lee Teng-hui (李登輝) and to forewarn the next president.
Looking into the past, Ma’s Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) gripped the presidency of Taiwan in its hands for five consecutive decades. In all that time, his party was not willing and able to wrest administration of the Diaoyutai Islands from Japan, and the Chinese Nationalists certainly failed to establish within the international community undisputed sovereignty over the islands for Taiwan.
In reality, until 1970, Taiwan had not made any substantial claim over the islands, and the international community generally accepted Japanese sovereignty. It was former president Chiang Kai-shek (蔣介石) who dictated this situation; alas, Lee merely continues along in his generation’s interpretation of this situation.
Glimpsing the future, the results of Taiwan’s upcoming elections are widely expected to reflect voters’ dissatisfaction with Ma’s administration. The opposition party’s presidential candidate holds a large lead in opinion polls. Voters seem ready for a change to new ways of handling old problems.
In this context, these new ways simply equate to basic governmental transparency and open communication with the public. Therefore, can someone such as Ma, who has lost the trust of the people, really expect to advise others who are seeking to gain the trust of the people?
History has various interpretations. The future has limitless opportunities. What matters most for a nation is having the right leader at the right time. What Taiwan needs right now is a leader whose actions in the international arena speak louder than his or her words in a newspaper.
John Conklin
Indianapolis, Indiana
Greener cars of the future
Japan is pushing for hydrogen energy. For example, Toyota Motor Corp has successfully developed a hydrogen car they call Mirai, meaning “Future.” The exhaust from the car is condensed to water. The emission of nitrogen oxide is reduced, which can help mitigate some of the smog problems in large cities. The auto company has applied for many patents and says it will allow the world to use them “free of charge.”
Toyota claims that the hydrogen car is free from carbon dioxide emissions and, therefore, is environmentally friendly.
This claim is valid only if the hydrogen used by the car is not produced from natural gas (like liquefied natural gas), oil or coal. Even if the hydrogen is produced from water by electrolysis using electricity generated from any fossil fuel, carbon dioxide is still emitted at the site of electricity generation. Natural gas has the lowest carbon dioxide emission, and coal has the highest.
The only possibility in which hydrogen cars are green, environmentally, seems to be that the hydrogen comes from biomass or from water by electrolysis using electricity generated from nuclear power plants, solar cells, windmills or the like.
Possibly related to an effort to reduce carbon dioxide emissions, in spite of public opposition, Japan has restarted a nuclear reactor that was shut down after the March 11, 2011, earthquake. Reactor safety was improved before the restart. Only time will tell whether or not it is worth taking such a risk. For sure, nothing is 100 percent safe in case of a strong earthquake or tsunami.
Nuclear waste storage and contaminated wastewater treatment are the routine problems to be tackled. Japanese fishermen were recently asked by the nuclear power plant to allow the discharging of its radiation-contaminated water into the ocean and they would be compensated for their losses.
Electric cars have the same advantages as hydrogen cars, but they also emit carbon dioxide off site if the electricity used by the cars is generated from any fossil fuel. A hybrid car emits carbon dioxide on site.
Charles Hong
Columbus, Ohio
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