Music reflects the personality of a nation’s people. When I was studying abroad, I noticed a difference in the musical styles of Taiwanese and Westerners. It seems to me that most of the music played on Western radio or TV has a lively rhythm and positive lyrics, whereas the music in Taiwan commonly has melancholy tones and sad lyrics. Taiwanese singers lament their misfortunes and destinies, as well as their misery and uselessness. Even love songs are filled with self-devaluing and worthless sentiments.
Perhaps this is due to the history of colonization, as well as the White Terror of Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) rule, which led to a sense of learned helplessness that permeates Taiwanese culture, psychology and music.
Many people have been surprised by the apparent indifference among Taiwanese to China’s recent threat of military attack. Taiwanese continue to live their regular lives and go about their daily routines. People are still crowding department stores and restaurants. A common response of people interviewed by news stations is: “We cannot do anything about it, can we?”
Is this an example of learned helplessness?
When faced with threats, Taiwanese must become more proactive.
I remember one time I was attending an event in London and stayed at a school dorm. For some reason, the alarm went off. Most people walked out slowly, not taking it seriously. I saw an Israeli girl running out of the shower in her bathrobe. She responded to the alarm with a great deal of seriousness. If I were her, I probably would have dressed properly before leaving the house, thinking it was just another false alarm. I must admit that I did not have the same level of awareness and alertness as the Israeli girl did. The people in her country are probably well prepared and trained for emergencies because there is a high possibility of violence and military attacks.
Is Taiwan prepared and trained for possible attacks?
People must continue to live their lives and do their jobs without panicking, but they must also be aware of the learned helplessness engrained in the collective psyche. Taiwanese should be more active and serious about their country’s future. It is essential to develop a systemic and solid approach toward potential threats, and improve awareness of the consequences.
Natural disaster prevention is important for those living in areas prone to such occurrences. People living in conflict zones must also take precautions and prepare for an attack. Robert Tsao (曹興誠), founder and former chairman of United Microelectronics Corp, has set a good example.
The sad songs were for the suppressed; they have become a part of Taiwan’s culture due to colonization. Hopefully, there will be more upbeat songs that celebrate Taiwanese confidence in controlling their destiny and creating a better future.
Huang Yu-hsiu is an assistant professor in the Southern Taiwan University of Science and Technology’s Department of Applied English.
The image was oddly quiet. No speeches, no flags, no dramatic announcements — just a Chinese cargo ship cutting through arctic ice and arriving in Britain in October. The Istanbul Bridge completed a journey that once existed only in theory, shaving weeks off traditional shipping routes. On paper, it was a story about efficiency. In strategic terms, it was about timing. Much like politics, arriving early matters. Especially when the route, the rules and the traffic are still undefined. For years, global politics has trained us to watch the loud moments: warships in the Taiwan Strait, sanctions announced at news conferences, leaders trading
The saga of Sarah Dzafce, the disgraced former Miss Finland, is far more significant than a mere beauty pageant controversy. It serves as a potent and painful contemporary lesson in global cultural ethics and the absolute necessity of racial respect. Her public career was instantly pulverized not by a lapse in judgement, but by a deliberate act of racial hostility, the flames of which swiftly encircled the globe. The offensive action was simple, yet profoundly provocative: a 15-second video in which Dzafce performed the infamous “slanted eyes” gesture — a crude, historically loaded caricature of East Asian features used in Western
Is a new foreign partner for Taiwan emerging in the Middle East? Last week, Taiwanese media reported that Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Francois Wu (吳志中) secretly visited Israel, a country with whom Taiwan has long shared unofficial relations but which has approached those relations cautiously. In the wake of China’s implicit but clear support for Hamas and Iran in the wake of the October 2023 assault on Israel, Jerusalem’s calculus may be changing. Both small countries facing literal existential threats, Israel and Taiwan have much to gain from closer ties. In his recent op-ed for the Washington Post, President William
A stabbing attack inside and near two busy Taipei MRT stations on Friday evening shocked the nation and made headlines in many foreign and local news media, as such indiscriminate attacks are rare in Taiwan. Four people died, including the 27-year-old suspect, and 11 people sustained injuries. At Taipei Main Station, the suspect threw smoke grenades near two exits and fatally stabbed one person who tried to stop him. He later made his way to Eslite Spectrum Nanxi department store near Zhongshan MRT Station, where he threw more smoke grenades and fatally stabbed a person on a scooter by the roadside.
RSS