Dispelling a fiction
Like US Senator Marco Rubio, I would like to dispel a fiction, but this one is about US pork. Let us be clear. Once it comes in, it will be everywhere. It will be unavoidable.
US pork will be cheaper and therefore will be cut up and mixed with Taiwanese pork. When you eat street food, night market food or even dishes at decent quality restaurants with sliced, shredded or minced pork, you will be eating US pork.
Some people have argued that the free market will let people decide if they would rather purchase Taiwanese pork products or imported pork that is treated with substances that are banned in Taiwan.
When you are in the supermarket that might be an option, if you are buying meat to prepare at home. However, when you are buying packaged dumplings, steamed buns and myriad pork-filled treats that the majority of this nation enjoys, you will not know.
Even if a supermarket or a restaurant chain claims to have hormone-free locally raised meat, will you believe it? How far up the supply chain can each retailer be aware? The last few years have taught Taiwanese consumers to be wary.
Food safety checks and enforcement of health codes has left a great deal of room for improvement. However, make no mistake. Laws banning US pork from schools would not work.
Laws demanding restaurants and supermarkets disclose the origin of their meat products would not protect us from the possibility that someone, somewhere in the supply chain might save a buck by using US pork. You can argue about the safety of these products, their long-term effects and so on ad nauseam, but please make no more of the argument that you can just avoid them if you wish. It is not true.
So, I offer a suggestion that I plan to take myself. If US pork does come in, I am giving up pork. For a couple of reasons, I am already eliminating beef from my diet, which will make losing pork a challenge. However, if enough people are willing to see the whole pork market destroyed rather than let it be tainted by a product they do not want, maybe the government would listen. For me, ban it or boycott it.
Aaron Andrews
Taichung
Students’ turn to speak
Minister of Education Pan Wen-chung (潘文忠) recently introduced a regulation forbidding public schools from punishing students for uniform infractions and personal appearance. As a person who has gone through the uniform-only times, I am glad to see that students below high-school age have more say on what they would like to wear.
Forcing students to only wear uniforms and regulating their personal appearance is a hierarchical power imposed on students. The underlying message is that all students should, without question, obey the rules. The debate over the issue is not only about wearing uniforms. It is about students having the right to participate in deciding the affairs concerning themselves.
Department of Student Affairs and Special Education Director-General Kao Chih-chang (高志璋) said that the enforcement of the law is in “the spirit of democratic governance.”
Students from now on can learn to take part in weighing, judging and making their own decisions. Since February, due to the students’ efforts, National Taichung Girl’s Senior High School has allowed students to wear sports shorts while out of school. The relaxation of the school’s dress code policy sends the students the message that if they stand up, their voices would be heard. With the new regulation on the road, students would not have the fear of being punished and can have the courage to speak up and voice their opinions.
Inevitably, new regulations generate varied opinions from different parties. A few days ago, students from New Taipei City’s Municipal Xiufeng High School quarreled with military instructors, saying that they could wear whatever they like. The regulation was used as a weapon.
Although military instructors are no longer able to punish students, they could still “advise” students not to do so, which, according to Secondary and Elementary School Principals Association director Xue Chun-guang (薛春光), would “escalate confrontations between schools and students.”
The ministry has responded to the incident, saying it hopes that the uniform issue could foster an open and democratic discussion, and that the two parties could respect each other.
For me, this offers a great opportunity for students and the school to communicate. It is the best platform for students to practice effective communication, a vital skill that all people in this democratic society should possess.
In the process of communicating, students learn to listen and reflect on different opinions and to reach a consensus.
The uniform war is not merely a war about uniforms, but a war for students to carry forward the spirit of democracy, express opinions, communicate and take part in deciding their affairs. The regulation serves as the best support for students to speak up. Students, it is your turn to speak.
Aimee Yeh
Taipei
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