Steps toward ‘turquoization’
There are many root causes of divisiveness and polarization in Taiwanese society: election districts, standards for party representation in the legislature, the voting age, a hollowing out of the domestic economy, China policy, over-reliance on the China market, unequal distribution of wealth, ethnicity, the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) stolen assets and the so-called “1992 consensus,” among others.
Despite the many differences between the KMT and the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) South China Sea Peace Initiative and the DPP’s ideas on the South China Sea share strikingly similar focus: Both seek stability and relevance in the region; both oppose provocative actions by other powers and claimants; both advocate freedom of navigation; both support the UN Convention of the Law of the Sea; both want to be party to any and all negotiations on the South China Sea; both support humanitarian assistance in the region; and both are opposed to working with China on South China Seas issues.
Encouragingly, both support the same policy on the Diaoyutai Islands (釣魚台).
Taiwanese deserve a respite from the incessant, internecine political division and polarization that has become too common. A more cooperative, bipartisan supported South China Sea policy would help to bridge the blue-green political divide and could be a modest first step to a “turquoization” of Taiwan society.
It is incumbent for the major parties to show the electorate that they can cooperate and work for the common good.
If they do not, the new parties supported by veterans of the Sunflower movement, who are to be the next generation of leaders, will either push them to do so or push them aside.
William Sharp
Honolulu, Hawaii
Safety culture crucial
The Chinese-language Apple Daily editorial on Monday was right to insist on safety at the nation’s nuclear power plants, but it is misleading to draw a direct comparison between the Formosa Fun Coast (八仙海岸) accident and nuclear accidents.
The water park dust explosion was terrifying and tragic for all involved, but the most surprising aspect for me was the utter lack of any safety culture or safety conscious design that allowed this catastrophe to occur.
Furthermore, as the article mentions, this is not the only safety related failure in recent years, with the Kaohsiung gas pipeline explosions, a falling steel girder in Taichung and two plane crashes as examples of accidents which needlessly claimed lives.
As a student of nuclear engineering who has interned with an US nuclear design company, I know that nuclear power plant designers and operators have a strong focus on safety in everything that they do, are well aware of the risks of the industry, and are constantly updating designs and methods to learn from previous mistakes.
They are also highly regulated to ensure that safety remains paramount.
It is this attitude that has allowed nuclear energy to contribute 70 billion kilowatt-hours and 15,000 reactor years over the past half-century, with far fewer deaths and health effects than any other form of energy, while also avoiding 2.5 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide production every year.
Perhaps the dust explosion at the water park is not a reason for Taiwan to rethink nuclear power, but rather a wake up call for the nation’s other industrial and engineering pursuits, and their regulators to learn from the nuclear industry’s overall safety culture and successful track record.
Neil Herman
TEXONO, Academia Sinica
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