Taiwan is known for being a green oasis in Asia. The New York Times has touted initiatives such as the Beitou Public Library’s solar panels which generate electricity and the indoor garden at Da-an Forest Park metro station. But to those of us who live here, the term “green oasis” can sometimes seem far from reality. Beaches and hiking trails are littered with trash and sights like Ma-anshan Nuclear Power Plant (馬鞍山核能發電廠) on Nanwan Beach (南灣) in Pingtung County, for instance, are not just an eyesore, but a constant reminder of potential health risks.
For those interested in learning more about where Taiwan stands in terms of green technologies and economic growth, John Mathews, professor in management at Macquarie University in Sydney and author of the newly-released book Global Green Shift, will speak about the topic at a series of lectures in Taipei and Hsinchu taking place tomorrow and next week and organized by Hu Mei-chih (胡美智), a professor at National Tsing Hua University in Hsinchu.
In his book, Mathews posits that Taiwan was one of the “Asian Tigers” to industrialize rapidly over the last few decades by targeting key industries such as IT and semiconductors, though it’s China that is investing in green infrastructure such as solar farms, wind farms and electric vehicles. Despite this, Mathews sees Taiwan moving away from nuclear power and fossil fuels as a promising sign.
Photo: Dana Ter, Taipei Times
“Taiwan already knows very well how to build new high-tech industries as an industrial latecomer,” Mathews tells the Taipei Times. “There are very good reasons for Taiwan to pursue a green strategy with all speed and dispatch.”
Hu agrees, th ough she thinks that there’s still some catching up to do in the realms of civic consciousness and environmental awareness.
“We cannot expect the environmental awareness in a latecomer country such as Taiwan to immediately advance to the level of Western countries,” Hu says.
However, she adds that the way in which young people are turning to technology to voice concerns over environmental pollution and promote sustainability is a positive change.
Looking to the future, Mathews proposes that one way forward would be to build “eco-cities” in Taiwan, perhaps following the Singapore model of building not only parks, gardens and green spaces but also making use of renewable resources to eliminate carbon waste.
“Taiwan has dense urban development but as a semi-tropical island, it is also blessed with much greenery,” Mathews says. “This could provide incentive to create new urban eco-spaces.”
He adds that the views expressed by US President Donald Trump have so far been in favor of maintaining fossil fuels while derailing green industries such as renewable resources.
“There is a historic opening now for countries in East Asia to seize the initiative and create world-leading new green industries,” Mathews concludes.
What: The Role of Taiwan in the Global Green Shift, talk by John Mathews, Macquarie University
When and where:
■ Tomorrow from 1:30pm to 2:30pm at Taiwan Institute for Economic Research (台灣經濟研究院), 16-8 Dehui St, Taipei City (台北市德惠街16之8號), Room 208
■ Monday from 9:30am to 11:30am at Chung-hua Institute for Economic Research (中華經濟研究院), 75 Changxing St, Taipei City (台北市長興街75號), Room 322
■ Tuesday from 10am to 12pm at National Tsing Hua University (國立清華大學), 101, Guangfu Rd Sec 2, Hsinchu City (新竹市光復路二段101號), TSMC Building R901
Admission: Free
Oct 19 to Oct 25 Ma Yi-kung (馬以工) sighed a breath of relief after the March 1981 meeting to “decide the final fate” of the mangrove forests of Tamsui. Even though then-premier Sun Yun-suan (孫運璿) had announced a year earlier that the Executive Yuan would pledge to protect the forest, the Water Resources Agency still insisted on razing them to build public housing. In June 1980, the forests suffered a serious blow when unscrupulous developers cut down over 30,000m2 of the plants, and experts rushed in to reverse the damage. Sun had announced on Oct. 22, 1980 that the government would
When Dalilah Restrepo, then a New York-based physician, clicked on an e-mail in 2018 asking if she was “looking for experiencing something abroad”, she was skeptical. “And then I opened it, and I was like … New Zealand? Gosh, that’s a bit drastic.” Restrepo, who had been in private practice for “10 or 11 years,” was exhausted. “The health system in the US is really toxic,” she said. Health disparities and “moral injury” had caused burnout among her peers, she said, and before the suggestion that she leave the States, she had thought of quitting her profession altogether. In March 2019, Restrepo joined
Food can reflect culture, but can food also reflect history? That was what Lee Chi-lin (李其霖), associate professor of history at Tamkang University (淡江大學) wanted to explore when he gathered historians, local officials and culinary enthusiasts at the Tamsui Red House (淡水紅樓), an exquisite red-brick Taiwanese cuisine restaurant built in 1899. Lee planned the menu to reflect the historic Qing victory over the French in the Battle of Tamsui, also known as the Battle of Hobe (滬尾, Tamsui’s old name). On Aug. 23, 1884 war had broken out due to a territorial dispute in Vietnam between the French and Taiwan’s Qing
What sort of science fiction does Xi Jinping (習近平) like? How can China’s weathermen use the president’s political philosophy to improve their forecasts? In what ways can “Xi Thought” help prepare the country for the next big earthquake? These are the sorts of questions Communist Party cadres are now pondering as they prepare for the next big milestone in the president’s effort to cement control: Elevating Xi Thought alongside Maoism. The esoteric concept is expected to be written into the five-year development blueprint that will be unveiled after party meetings later this month. Everyone from diplomats to executives to sci-fi writers
RSS