In times of calamity
In wake of the avoidable tragedy at the Formosa Fun Coast (八仙海岸) water park in New Taipei City’s Bali District (八里), I noticed something remarkable: young people, injured themselves, carrying those who were in worse pain. This captures perfectly why I have come to love Taiwan over my eight years here.
Of course, the news focuses on the suffering and whom to blame, but as a nation, Taiwan should honor the hundreds of heroes that terrible night, young adults who gathered for a night of celebration, but found themselves in an avoidable, calamitous and deadly event.
Beside first-responders who reacted to the best of their abilities, ordinary young people acted bravely, carrying victims on rubber floats or driving complete strangers to hospitals.
This generation has been called “apathetic” and “lazy,” but I am always reminded of why one should never underestimate the strength of young Taiwanese.
Many of them are likely to not only have physical scars, but emotional scars. I hope that Taiwanese embrace them as they transition to a new chapter in their lives, and that the nation does not abandon them. My heart and thoughts go out to victims and families, but also to the hundreds of heroes who responded so selflessly on that terrible evening.
Arturo Meneses
Hsinchu
Incentives for births needed
An aging population is a problem faced by a number of nations. It is said that by having fewer children, parents are bequeathing a massive debt to future generations, as fewer people are working, meaning less taxes are paid that are required to sustain services.
While policies that encourage older workers to remain on the job have merit, a far better strategy would be to encourage people to have at least two children, preferably three. The statistical replacement level is 2.3 children per couple, factoring in stillbirths, cot deaths and death in early childhood.
Tax incentives of various kinds and child endowment are some of the ways this can be achieved. These measures soon pay for themselves in increased demand for food, clothing, education and other goods and services, creating jobs.
Another possibility is granting citizenship to certain immigrant workers who demonstrate loyalty to the nation.
Given Taiwan’s position vis-a-vis China, I would think a declining population would be most undesirable.
Gavan Duffy
Runcorn, Australia
Contrasting US loyalties
Two articles — one by Han Cheung and the other by Nicholas Shaxson (“In remembrance of a ‘needless sacrifice,’” June 24, page 12, and “Follow the money: inside the world’s tax havens,” June 24, page 9) — provided a sharp contrast on Americans’ loyalties to the US during different times.
The former article aroused a sense of pride in being American and focused on the honor of sacrifice for the nation during World War II. However, the second article highlighted how giant US firms have dodged tax payments by setting up offices in offshore tax havens in recent years. The trend in the second article coincides with news about the increasing number of Americans renouncing their US citizenship to avoid paying taxes last year and early this year.
It seems that Americans were willing to sacrifice their lives for their nation during wartime, but are happy to compromise their loyalty for financial gain during peacetime.
Hopefully, this is only a quirky feeling that struck me as we near Independence Day.
Chingning Wang
Pingtung
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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