This month, a dust storm blowing out of China — the strongest in five years — brought PM2.5, toxic pollutants (SO2, NOx, O3) and microorganisms flying through the atmosphere not only in Asia, but also the western portion of the US and British Columbia. In all, 4,000 tonnes of dust will reach North America.
These toxic pollutants have all been identified as sources of respiratory diseases and lung cancer. Such storms are having a substantial impact on human health, the environment, ecosystems, weather and the climate. They have affected the health of Taiwanese, Japanese, Koreans and Americans, and it has been estimated that 3.6 million tonnes of Asian dust particles fall in Japan annually.
In the American Cancer Society’s 2016 estimate of deaths for selected cancer by state, California was No. 1 for lung cancers. Statistical studies in 1996 showed that 64,000 Americans died of respiratory disease and lung cancer that year. In 2016, the number jumped to more than 158,080, the society said.
Many scientists suspect that these numbers could be correlated with Chinese pollutants and dust storms, corresponding to China’s GDP jump over the past 20 years. They suspect that PM2.5, together with these dust storms, caused Americans to sicken and later die of lung cancer.
China’s prioritization of economic growth with relaxed environmental regulations has created tremendous volumes of pollutants that spread to its neighbors and then onward to the US.
Americans should be very angry about being victims of China’s moneymaking process over the past 20 to 30 years.
The US Environmental Protection Agency has in past decades tried to help China minimize industrial pollutants to improve the air quality globally. These issues involve environmental justice and the human rights of Taiwanese, Americans, Japanese, Koreans and Chinese.
Winston Dang is chair professor at the Taipei Medical University College of Public Health and a former Environmental Protection Administration minister.
The gutting of Voice of America (VOA) and Radio Free Asia (RFA) by US President Donald Trump’s administration poses a serious threat to the global voice of freedom, particularly for those living under authoritarian regimes such as China. The US — hailed as the model of liberal democracy — has the moral responsibility to uphold the values it champions. In undermining these institutions, the US risks diminishing its “soft power,” a pivotal pillar of its global influence. VOA Tibetan and RFA Tibetan played an enormous role in promoting the strong image of the US in and outside Tibet. On VOA Tibetan,
Sung Chien-liang (宋建樑), the leader of the Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) efforts to recall Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Lee Kun-cheng (李坤城), caused a national outrage and drew diplomatic condemnation on Tuesday after he arrived at the New Taipei City District Prosecutors’ Office dressed in a Nazi uniform. Sung performed a Nazi salute and carried a copy of Adolf Hitler’s Mein Kampf as he arrived to be questioned over allegations of signature forgery in the recall petition. The KMT’s response to the incident has shown a striking lack of contrition and decency. Rather than apologizing and distancing itself from Sung’s actions,
US President Trump weighed into the state of America’s semiconductor manufacturing when he declared, “They [Taiwan] stole it from us. They took it from us, and I don’t blame them. I give them credit.” At a prior White House event President Trump hosted TSMC chairman C.C. Wei (魏哲家), head of the world’s largest and most advanced chip manufacturer, to announce a commitment to invest US$100 billion in America. The president then shifted his previously critical rhetoric on Taiwan and put off tariffs on its chips. Now we learn that the Trump Administration is conducting a “trade investigation” on semiconductors which
By now, most of Taiwan has heard Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an’s (蔣萬安) threats to initiate a vote of no confidence against the Cabinet. His rationale is that the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP)-led government’s investigation into alleged signature forgery in the Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) recall campaign constitutes “political persecution.” I sincerely hope he goes through with it. The opposition currently holds a majority in the Legislative Yuan, so the initiation of a no-confidence motion and its passage should be entirely within reach. If Chiang truly believes that the government is overreaching, abusing its power and targeting political opponents — then
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