For three straight weeks, a poll of some sort about the social and global awareness of teenagers has appeared in the news. Conducted by different organizations, the latest one published last week showed that 50 percent of teenagers are not interested in or familiar with global issues that are closely tied to Taiwan, such as the South China Sea territorial disputes. When asked to rate themselves and the general public in terms of global perspective, respondents gave both groups a score of less than 60 out of 100.
While it might seem normal for teenagers to be disinterested in news and politics, that the students also rated the general public at less than 60 in global perspective indicates that the problem is prevalent even in older generations.
It is also not just about global issues — Taiwanese respondents were ranked third-least knowledgeable in the world about their own nation in last year’s Index of Ignorance. In May, a survey showed that 90 percent of teenagers did not know that more than 98 percent of the nation’s energy is imported.
In a nation that often looks inward and is prone to internal squabbles, both local and global knowledge are crucial to steer Taiwan toward a competitive and stable future. Especially when so much of the nation’s fortunes depend on its international standing, Taiwanese cannot afford to be ignorant.
One problem is that teens really do not have many sources of relevant national and international news and analysis in Chinese. With the local media fixated on sensationalism, empty political statements and dashcam footage, it might be easier to simply start incorporating more global and practical current events topics and discussion into the classroom.
As society starts to value practical, creative and vocational education over the traditional “force-feed” model, awareness of current events should be a point of emphasis as well.
The same goes for social issues. Another recent survey showed that 42 percent of teenagers are passive toward social issues. The average score of their self-evaluation regarding how much they understand nine listed issues was 2.8 out of five, meaning that they are not “capable of expressing detailed points of view.”
A third survey indicated that Taiwanese teenagers tend to engage in political and social issues through social media, while few of them join organizations.
The second survey might have a key clue to the students’ passiveness: 40.9 percent of parents were unsupportive of their children’s interest in such matters, with more than half of them saying that their children should focus on schoolwork, while 43 percent said teens should care when they are older.
Again, it is the same mentality that leads to students attending college just for the sake of attending college. Good grades matter over career choice, practical skills and relevant knowledge. There is really no waiting until they get older for civic participation — good habits are best developed young, since ever more of the realities of life will get in the way as they get older.
The oversaturation of college students and lack of opportunities for them are causing society to realize that the system is no longer working, but it will likely take a while for parents to realize that what their children learn while working for social causes is just as valuable as information in textbooks. These social issues could be incorporated in classrooms so that they become legitimate pursuits for students in the eyes of the parents.
With each passing day, the threat of a People’s Republic of China (PRC) assault on Taiwan grows. Whatever one’s view about the history, there is essentially no question that a PRC conquest of Taiwan would mark the end of the autonomy and freedom enjoyed by the island’s 23 million people. Simply put, the PRC threat to Taiwan is genuinely existential for a free, democratic and autonomous Taiwan. Yet one might not know it from looking at Taiwan. For an island facing a threat so acute, lethal and imminent, Taiwan is showing an alarming lack of urgency in dramatically strengthening its defenses.
As India’s six-week-long general election grinds past the halfway mark, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s messaging has shifted from confident to shrill. After the first couple of phases of polling showed a 3 percentage point drop in turnout, Modi and his party leaders have largely stopped promoting their accomplishments of the past 10 years — or, for that matter, the “Modi guarantees” offered in the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) manifesto for the next five. Instead, making the majority Hindu population fear and loathe Muslims seems to be the BJP’s preferred talking point. Modi went on the offensive in an April 21
The people of Taiwan recently received confirmation of the strength of American support for their security. Of four foreign aid bills that Congress passed and President Biden signed in April, the bill legislating additional support for Taiwan garnered the most votes. Three hundred eighty-five members of the House of Representatives voted to provide foreign military financing to Taiwan versus only 34 against. More members of Congress voted to support Taiwan than Ukraine, Israel, or banning TikTok. There was scant debate over whether the United States should provide greater support for Taiwan. It was understood and broadly accepted that doing so
I still remember the first time I heard about the possibility of an invasion by China. I was six years old. I thought war was coming and hid in my bed, scared. After 18 years, the invasion news tastes like a sandwich I eat every morning. As a Gen Z Taiwanese student who has witnessed China’s harassment for more than 20 years, I want to share my opinion on China. Every generation goes through different events. I have seen not only the norms of China’s constant presence, but also the Sunflower movement, wars and people fighting over peace or equality,