I have chosen three issues for my semester-long issue project. The first step of this project was to connect those three issue to the meaning of sustainability, either through the Three Pillars of Sustainability or the Good Citizens Model. The issues I researched were in East Asia; I am interested in all three of them, but I have chosen one that I can explore more in-depth.
Taiwan’s Political Status
The first topic I am going to talk about is Taiwan’s current political status. I identify Taiwan as my home, so it is no surprise that my view point on the island is that it is a legitimate country—despite the overwhelming majority of officials around the world thinking otherwise. I also find it tragic that the majority of ordinary people in the world are not aware of the controversial status Taiwan faces. Therefore, I feel that it is my obligation as a citizen to educate the public regarding this issues, and to help support Taiwan’s status in anyway I can.
Personally Responsible Citizen:Taiwan is one of the countries that mandate military service for males between the ages of 18 and 35 for at least a year. That means at some point in time, most likely after I finish school in OSU, I will be going back to fulfill my civic duty as a solider in the military. I feel proud to be able to serve my country, especially since the tension between Taiwan and China is at a new high point, and the threat of invasion from China is more real now than ever.
Participatory Citizen: I can fulfill this category by attending organizations formed by Taiwanese or Taiwanese American students at OSU. This demonstrates that I am staying up to date on the issues happening in Taiwan, even though I am half way around the world. By doing this I can make sure I have the information on the topic correct, the media often doesn’t even broadcast news regarding Taiwan unless something important or big happened.
Justice Oriented Citizen: This category calls for citizens to be the watchdogs of society, to protect citizens’ rights, and to address injustices. Instead of assessing the domestic policy of Taiwan, I focus more on the U. S.’s policy towards the island. I found that the gap in terms of military strength between China and Taiwan is growing larger. The Chinese now out-number and out-technologize Taiwan in terms of weaponry. This indicates that Taiwan will have a harder time defending the island if war is to erupt. Even though they are the island’s most important democratic ally, the U.S. has not sold any defensive weapons to Taiwan for it to defend itself with in recent years. This is concerning to me. I think I can fulfill this category by, perhaps, writing to people in Congress who are known for speaking out for Taiwan. I could point my concerns out, and maybe then Congress will pass more weapon sales acts for Taiwan.
Conservation of Chinese White Dolphins
The Chinese White Dolphin is a sub-species of Indo-Pacific humpback dolphin. The population in the Eastern Taiwan Strait has been marked “Critically Endangered” by the IUCN Red List due to Taiwan expanding its petrochemical industry. This leads to the argument as to whether or not Taiwan should expand industry further, or protect the species.
Economics: Taiwan does not produce oil, and so its petroleum products completely rely on importing oil and manufacturing products using its petrochemical factories. More often than not, those products are exported to other countries. This makes up much of Taiwan’s GDP. Building new factory plants on the West Coast of Taiwan makes the island’s economy more competitive.
Environment: The plan for building those factories is to build an artificial island off the coast of Western Taiwan, and then construct factories on top of those artificial islands. This means that the habitat of the Chinese White Dolphins will diminish and the population will further dwindle. Moreover, the toxic substances from the factories can cause even further lasting damage to the dolphins.
Society: This conservation movement has no significant effect on Taiwanese society. The public in Taiwan does not express any special concern or interest in the wellbeing of the dolphins. Or, at least, not as much as the people in Hong Kong do.
Exporting of Food from Fukushima
Last year was the 5th anniversary of the Fukushima nuclear disaster. Just last year, food grown within the prefectures of the disaster area is starting to be exported to countries around the world. The topic of whether to allow imports of food from Fukushima has been a hotly debated topic in Taiwan. Currently, Taiwan and China are the only two countries left that impose a complete ban on all types of foods from the Fukushima prefectures.
Society: The public’s concerns about the safety of the imported food is legitimate. Although only food that passes safety inspection will be allowed for sale in Taiwan, there are concerns about radiation poisoning. People fear it will have a negative health impact on the general population, especially if the poisoning occurred on a mass scale.
Economics: In economics, trading is promoted to fuel growth for both parties. This is no different in the case between Japan and Taiwan. The idea of allowing imports would allow the public to have food from a variety of origins, which, in the long run, would benefit both countries’ economies due to increased trade.
Environment: There is no direct impact on the environment if the food is imported to Taiwan. The concerns about radiation pollution is mainly centered on food poisoning.
Final Choice
All of the issues I have discussed truly interest me, this is because Taiwan plays a role in all of them. That having been said, I have decided that I will choose to discuss the political status of Taiwan. I decided to focus my attention on that issue because I already have a lot of firsthand knowledge coming in about this issue. Also, this is the only issue that I can think of a concrete action plan for. I feel that I can make a positive impact on the situation. I have two objectives that I would like to fulfill: first, to spread awareness about the political status of Taiwan, and secondly to convince the public and officials that Taiwan is an independent nation.