Caution on typhoon days
On Monday, the Taipei Times was full of articles and editorials on the subject of typhoon days. I would like to address two in particular.
First, we have United Microelectronics Corp founder Robert Tsao (曹興誠) advocating eliminating typhoon days altogether (“Government should end typhoon days: UMC founder,” page 3). This is easy for him to say. How likely is it that he would ever have to wait for a bus, walk to an MRT station or ride a motorcycle in dangerous winds?
He suggests people take “personal leave” if they choose not to risk their lives coming to work in a typhoon. Again, this is easy for him to say. Many people cannot so casually take personal leave, just as many are afraid to take sick leave even if they are feeling ill.
Then Tsao makes a bizarre analogy to a Chinese invasion, a totally different situation. Of course, in such a situation anyone who can do anything useful should do so. The same is true in a typhoon, but Tsao is not suggesting that the people help deal with the typhoon, he is saying they should go to work.
How is making people go to work during a typhoon supposed to help prepare Taiwan to face a Chinese invasion?
I suspect that behind Tsao’s strange reasoning is the normal, faulty mindset of the Taiwanese boss, which assumes that employees’ productivity remains constant, no matter how many hours they work. This ignores the large body of evidence showing that workers who work less are more efficient. However, many Taiwanese bosses still see employees as little more than numbers on a spreadsheet.
Then there’s Yang Yung-nane’s (楊永年) “High time to tweak the typhoon day policy” on the op-ed page. After stating the casualties from the typhoon, he said: “It is not clear if the casualties were related to the typhoon day policy. If so, the current policy should be maintained. If not, it should be amended, reviewed or canceled.”
This logic is totally backward. If the authorities had not declared a typhoon day, then it would make sense to look at the casualties to see which of them might have been prevented by a typhoon day. But since they did, we would expect any casualties not to be related to the typhoon day policy. Instead, the question is how many deaths and injuries the typhoon day prevented. This number is unknowable, but that is always the case with preventative measures; we cannot be sure what would have happened, but that is not a reason to neglect them.
With typhoon days, the authorities are damned if they do and damned if they don’t. If they declare one, employers like Tsao will squawk about lost profits and academics like Yang will second-guess them. However, if they do not, more people will be killed or injured.
It seems that some people forget how dangerous typhoons can be. As in most such situations, caution is preferable. The authorities should continue to declare typhoon days if dangerous conditions seem likely.
Eric Scheihagen
Tamsui District,
New Taipei City
PRC not motherland
President William Lai (賴總統) said during his address at the Double Ten National Day gala on Saturday that the Republic of China (ROC) is 113 years old, but that the People’s Republic of China (PRC) is only 75. In terms of age, China “could not be the motherland of the people of the ROC.” If someone wishes to celebrate the founding of the PRC, then they should be more accurate. They should not tack on the word “motherland.”
The entire speech venue broke into thunderous applause. Lai said it succinctly. In terms of age, the PRC is certainly not the predecessor to our country.
“In fact, for people aged 75 or older in China, the ROC might be their actual homeland,” Lai added.
Just as Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Rosalia Wu (吳思瑤) said, Lai’s speech is the height of discourse. DPP Legislator Wang Ting-yu (王定宇) added that Lai’s logic is clear-cut. In terms of the nation’s age, China could not in any way be Taiwan’s motherland. We need to be clear on the concept of loyalty to one’s country. Shame on those who would cheer on the Chinese Communist Party’s founding while their feet are planted firmly in Taiwan.
A motherland is the birthplace of one’s ancestors. What is an ancestral birthplace? It is the hometown of one’s ancestors. I was born in Taiwan. I was raised in Taiwan. And I will live till my last breath in Taiwan. How could I ever see the PRC as my motherland? Lai’s discourse deserves praise.
Huang Hsiu-li
Taipei
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