Songshan airport revisited
Regarding recent letters suggesting Taipei’s Songshan Airport is out-dated, no longer needed and should be closed with its flights moved to Taoyuan.
I am astonished at how blind folks are to just how valuable Songshan is to the residents of Taipei in saving lives, perhaps thousands of them.
Songshan is an insurance policy that a city like Taipei should be thankful it has. In the event of a major earthquake in northern Taiwan, which is not far fetched, the proximity of a vast landing area near the city center void of buildings would be critical in saving lives. The ability of relief flights to come directly into the city and also utilize its vast space for triage and emergency shelters far outweighs any argument for shutting the airport down and moving it to Taoyuan.
Thats not all. In the event of war with China, Songshan ai would be a great asset for the residents of Taipei and Taiwan’s military to have available to them for supply and defense needs.
TRACE GOMEZ
Taipei
The case for euthenasia
Euthanasia has become an issue of increasing concern to people around the whole in recent years. A recent article by Chiang Sheng (“Allowing people to die with dignity,” June 10, page 8) mentioned that Taiwan has a long way to go before death can be dealt with in a dignified way, the main reason being that society has not pressed for legislation to uphold the right to die.
Many countries have tried to enact euthanasia laws, includes the US, the UK, Denmark, US, Israel, Netherlands and Belgium. France has also been considering the legalization of euthanasia. From the viewpoint of morality, ethics, and religion, killing is wrong and is not allowed. Still, we should take into account the severe suffering of patients afflicted by disease and terminal illness.
The term “euthanasia” is derived from the Greek, “eu” means “good,” and “thanatos” means “death.” Thus, the meaning of euthanasia is “good death.” In the modern world it has come to mean helping patients end their lives in order to relieve them of the intolerable pain associated with incurable disease and as such is considered a blessing. Usually, patients consider euthanasia because they know they know there is no prospect of recovery. Above all, patients do not want to suffer great pain from disease and fear the long drawn out period of dying.
We should take into serious consideration the suffering of patients. If a patient suffering from an incurable illness asks a doctor to stop life-prolonging treatment or to use a humane alternative such as an injection of lethal drugs to help end his or her life peacefully, then that should be considered.
No one wants to see their loved ones suffering. Patients should have the right to die with dignity at their own discretion when the time comes.
Lawmakers should tackle the case of euthanasia carefully because stringent laws are required to set out provisions governing euthanasia without infringing on the right to life.
MELODY WU
Taipei
I strongly agree with Chiang’s point of view on having the right to die. The issue of legalized euthanasia in Taiwan has been controversial for several years. People seem to be unwilling to accept death. We try to save terminally ill patients’ lives to preserve the sanctity of life. However, does what we do really uphold the dignity of life? Or do we just deprive those patients of the choice to die without pain?
This is a debate about ethics. People opposing euthanasia tend to consider it unethical.
However, that is not the case and to take away people’s right to choose a more painless way of dying is no more ethical. We certainly do not have the right to decide how other people live. Instead, we have a duty to respect the automomy of terminally ill patients. If they long for the pain to be gone then why should we insist on prolonging life when the patient is not so inclined? We always say that life is sacred, and therefore we have to preserve the dignity of life. However, where is the real dignity of life? Doesn’t the dignity of life mean we absolutely have to allowterminally ill patients to choose to end their life happily and beautifully?
I could not agree more with Chiang quoting Bengali poet Rabindranath Tagore “Let life be beautiful like summer flowers and death like autumn leaves.” Isn’t the best thing that we can do to let these patients decide the most beautiful way to end their life?
JOCELYN HUANG
Taipei City
Better police training needed
The article (“Police school graduates face tough challenges” June 23, page 8) was a very good indicator of the biggest challenge faced by Taiwan Police College graduates: inferior training and incompetent instructors.
The article describes how the Minister of the Interior Jiang Yi-huah’s (江宜樺) speech fell on deaf ears as many of the graduates were sleeping, playing with their cellphones or chatting. I am guessing that discipline is not something taught or emphasized by the college, and it is acceptable to graduate apparent juveniles who can’t restrain themselves even at their own graduation ceremony.
As if that was not enough, the minister then went on to say that he has “encountered that before” and so he was not bothered. I guess if the minister of the interior doesn’t care about discipline, why would anybody else?
Police officers in Taiwan are known for abysmally low morale and poor discipline. If this is how they are taught to act, I can only conclude that Police College graduates aren’t the only ones facing tough challenges. Rather, Taiwanese people will be facing the much more daunting challenge of putting up with hordes of incompetent and clueless gun-toting boys in uniform.
EMIL KAMINSKI
Taoyuan
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As China steps up a campaign to diplomatically isolate and squeeze Taiwan, it has become more imperative than ever that Taipei play a greater role internationally with the support of the democratic world. To help safeguard its autonomous status, Taiwan needs to go beyond bolstering its defenses with weapons like anti-ship and anti-aircraft missiles. With the help of its international backers, it must also expand its diplomatic footprint globally. But are Taiwan’s foreign friends willing to translate their rhetoric into action by helping Taipei carve out more international space for itself? Beating back China’s effort to turn Taiwan into an international pariah
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Since the end of the Cold War, the US-China espionage battle has arguably become the largest on Earth. Spying on China is vital for the US, as China’s growing military and technological capabilities pose direct challenges to its interests, especially in defending Taiwan and maintaining security in the Indo-Pacific. Intelligence gathering helps the US counter Chinese aggression, stay ahead of threats and safeguard not only its own security, but also the stability of global trade routes. Unchecked Chinese expansion could destabilize the region and have far-reaching global consequences. In recent years, spying on China has become increasingly difficult for the US
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