Taiwanese society appears normal on the surface, but is deeply distorted beneath. From politics and education to the media and public sector, many systems and values have strayed far from their original purpose — yet they are still accepted as part of everyday life.
I have come to care about these issues not just as a student of international affairs, but as someone shaped by personal observation and reflection. My father is a police officer, a profession often seen as stable, respectable and even admirable. However, I never spoke with him directly about the details of his work, but his silence only deepened my curiosity.
Growing up, I witnessed the constant stress and fatigue he carried home, and I began to wonder: What exactly causes this kind of pressure?
Much of what I have come to understand comes from older mentors and acquaintances — people with firsthand knowledge of Taiwan’s justice system, law enforcement and political machinery. Their stories helped me see that the exhaustion I witnessed was systemic.
One of the most persistent issues I have come to recognize is the enduring presence of organized crime. Politicians form symbiotic relationships with gangs to secure votes and consolidate power, while law enforcement often turns a blind eye.
Over time, “not getting involved” becomes an unspoken rule. This moral compromise, replicated across institutions, has allowed corruption to blend seamlessly into the structure of everyday governance.
I used to believe that if you worked hard and did the right thing, society would reward you. However, seeing my father — a man of principle — slowly worn down by a system that offers no real justice or support, I began to understand that what truly erodes faith is the institutions that enable bad actors.
My political views have also been shaped by discussions with my peers at university and engagement with independent media, and I have come to see that many young Taiwanese feel disillusioned.
Faced with high housing prices, stagnant wages and limited career prospects, many feel that political participation does not lead to meaningful change. As a result, some turn to third-party or independent candidates, not out of idealism, but out of desperation. The traditional parties have lost their credibility.
Recent political events have only intensified this disillusionment. For example, the pretrial detention of former Taipei mayor and Taiwan People’s Party chairman Ko Wen-je (柯文哲). To many observers, it appeared less like a matter of justice and more like political retaliation.
In a functioning democracy, the principle of “innocent until proven guilty” should be sacred. Yet the state’s actions seemed to challenge that core value.
This is no longer just about one political figure. It is about a broader system in which the law becomes a tool of power, not protection.
Even more troubling is the growing tendency among citizens to accept these conditions as normal. However, normalization of dysfunction is dangerous — it breeds apathy and civic disengagement. When people no longer believe in fairness or accountability, they lose trust in the system and withdraw from it. This withdrawal does not just hurt politics — it damages the social fabric.
If the next generation gives up on politics, who would shape Taiwan’s future?
We are taught to trust the government, obey the law and believe in democracy. However, reality keeps challenging those teachings. The most heartbreaking part is not that the system is broken — it is that we have started to accept the brokenness.
Chuang Po-wei is a student in the Department of International Affairs at Wenzao Ursuline University of Languages.
We are used to hearing that whenever something happens, it means Taiwan is about to fall to China. Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) cannot change the color of his socks without China experts claiming it means an invasion is imminent. So, it is no surprise that what happened in Venezuela over the weekend triggered the knee-jerk reaction of saying that Taiwan is next. That is not an opinion on whether US President Donald Trump was right to remove Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro the way he did or if it is good for Venezuela and the world. There are other, more qualified
The immediate response in Taiwan to the extraction of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro by the US over the weekend was to say that it was an example of violence by a major power against a smaller nation and that, as such, it gave Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) carte blanche to invade Taiwan. That assessment is vastly oversimplistic and, on more sober reflection, likely incorrect. Generally speaking, there are three basic interpretations from commentators in Taiwan. The first is that the US is no longer interested in what is happening beyond its own backyard, and no longer preoccupied with regions in other
As technological change sweeps across the world, the focus of education has undergone an inevitable shift toward artificial intelligence (AI) and digital learning. However, the HundrED Global Collection 2026 report has a message that Taiwanese society and education policymakers would do well to reflect on. In the age of AI, the scarcest resource in education is not advanced computing power, but people; and the most urgent global educational crisis is not technological backwardness, but teacher well-being and retention. Covering 52 countries, the report from HundrED, a Finnish nonprofit that reviews and compiles innovative solutions in education from around the world, highlights a
A recent piece of international news has drawn surprisingly little attention, yet it deserves far closer scrutiny. German industrial heavyweight Siemens Mobility has reportedly outmaneuvered long-entrenched Chinese competitors in Southeast Asian infrastructure to secure a strategic partnership with Vietnam’s largest private conglomerate, Vingroup. The agreement positions Siemens to participate in the construction of a high-speed rail link between Hanoi and Ha Long Bay. German media were blunt in their assessment: This was not merely a commercial win, but has symbolic significance in “reshaping geopolitical influence.” At first glance, this might look like a routine outcome of corporate bidding. However, placed in
RSS