Last month, a dispute over the use of priority seating erupted on the Taipei MRT, with an older woman demanding that a younger woman vacate a priority seat so that she could sit in it, striking her with a handbag. In response, the young woman forcefully kicked the older woman.
Public opinion is divided. Some said that yielding priority seats to others represents moral self-discipline and should not be understood as a mandatory, legal requirement. They might say that all eventually age and might someday need help, and that genuine compassion lies in the practice of inner discipline.
From seat-yielding on the MRT to those who volunteered with disaster relief in Hualien County, the maintenance of a civilized society relies on a selfless approach to others.
Others have expressed support for the young woman, and in some cases have brought up the older woman’s criminal history. The debate over the incident involves the definition and criteria for the use of priority seats, and issues such as how to protect the rights of the vulnerable and what are appropriate penalties.
However, a more critical problem lies in the growing generational tensions in Taiwan, which is closely linked to economic and political conflicts.
Rising housings costs have increased the pressure on young people wanting to rent or to own a home. Academic credentials have devalued after the educational reform, while the gap between education and employment has widened, leading to relatively low wages among many young people.
With hard work yielding little return, the younger generation is becoming increasingly discontented. Today, a growing sense of “relative deprivation” is widening the generation gap.
Politically, the confrontation among major parties is only making the situation worse. The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) enjoys greater support from older generations with more social resources, and these generations tend to favor cross-strait exchanges more.
The Democratic Progressive Party enjoys greater support among the younger generation with a stronger identification with Taiwan. Due to the evolution of curricula, the different generations have been educated within different ideological contexts, leading to tensions between the different age groups. The partisan squabbles, indirectly involving the respective parties’ supporters, has further deepened the generational divide.
Young people might regard older adults as the establishment, a group with vested interests, leading to a sense of anger toward them.
In the incident in question, the young woman kicked out at the old woman, and many seem to applaud this, seeing her as a hero representing their anger, not taking into account that the misbehavior of a few older adults does not really represent the majority of that generation.
The altercation might well have been the result of poor communication, and it would be a mistake to jump to conclusions on either side, to support the young woman or unilaterally condemn the elderly woman. Instead, we should regard this as an opportunity to take a long look at the issue of generational tensions and consider what could be done to reduce them.
The true solution lies in listening and understanding one another among the generations, to prevent political manipulation from eroding human relations. Those in power must be aware and exercise self-restraint, so they can prevent the escalation of the generational tensions that exist, and work to rebuild mutual trust and respect in society.
Huang Rui-bin is a physician.
Translated by Eddy Chang
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