Taiwan social issues 結果共19筆

Taiwanese citizens gather for the 16th presidential inauguration, voicing concerns and expectations on environmental issues, economic disparities, and social reforms, while calling for unity and effective governance.

Explore the unfolding story of Taiwan’s former President Chen Shui-pian’s potential pardon by President Tsai Ing-wen, as the Presidential Office commits to ensuring Chen’s healthcare amidst discussions of his medical parole, public appearances, and the implications of a pardon on justice and social unity.

Research by Chen Tuan-jung from National Taiwan University suggests children of recent immigrants in New Taipei City are more prone to disordered eating behaviors compared to their peers, with factors such as social identity, cultural pressures, and health literacy influencing this trend. The study highlights the psychological distress and potential for serious mental health issues among these children, underscoring the need for awareness and intervention.

Taiwan People’s Party Chairman Ko Wen-je accepts President Tsai Ing-wen’s invitation for dialogue on critical national issues, emphasizing support for partisan reconciliation and cross-strait peace. Their meeting, the first since 2018, sparks public interest and discussions on political communication platforms and key national issues.

University of Chicago students recently explored the TVBS News office, delving into Taiwan’s media landscape and how global issues, especially military affairs and cross-strait tensions, are covered. Highlights include insights into traditional news values and the integration of new technologies.

The Taiwanese government, led by Premier Chen Chien-jen, has emphasized its commitment to handling issues with the social media platform TikTok with precision. The government aims to address potential misinformation on social platforms to enhance public literacy and has warned of legal sanctions for spreading false information. The Ministry of Justice Investigation Bureau recently established a Cognitive Warfare Research Center, which has raised concerns about potential infringements on freedom of speech. Chen highlighted the use of TikTok in advancing cognitive warfare efforts in some countries and the need for stricter government scrutiny. Taiwan has already banned the use of TikTok in government sectors since 2020. Chen argued that autocratic nations often exploit democratic societies’ free speech to influence elections through social media. He reiterated Taiwan’s status as a free and democratic country ruled by law, emphasizing the government’s responsibility to protect freedom of speech. Chen also highlighted the threats posed by spreading false or misinformation to reputation, health, privacy, societal stability, and national security. He called on democracies worldwide to approach this issue with caution.

58% of part-time workers in Taiwan have faced wage issues, misleading job ads, and illicit contracts, according to a survey by Yes123 Job Bank. The platform advises job hunters to follow a list of ＂seven don’ts＂ and ＂four musts＂ to protect themselves. The survey also found that a record-breaking 87% of university students plan to work part-time over the winter break, with reasons including earning living expenses and gaining social experience. Of the respondents, 65% reported receiving wages lower than the government’s minimum wage, with some not even being insured. Only about 30% actively negotiated or reported these issues. Yes123 spokesman Yang Tsung-pin urged job seekers to prioritize labor rights and work safety.

Former president of National Taiwan University, Kuan Chung-ming, shows his support for Kuomintang (KMT) presidential candidate Hou Yu-ih in Kaohsiung. Kuan criticizes the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) for social issues in Taiwan and accuses them of damaging academic freedom and lacking moral integrity. Kuan urges his supporters to vote for Hou Yu-ih, emphasizing the importance of honesty, broad-mindedness, and courage in a leader. He disagrees with DPP candidate Lai Ching-Te’s criticism of the Constitution of the Republic of China, deeming him unfit for the presidency. Kuan reflects on his career and emphasizes the need for a secure Taiwan, a future for the youth, and the happiness of the people.

Taiwan’s 2024 presidential candidates focus on housing issues to win young voters’ support. Opposition parties criticize the incumbent president’s housing track record. Experts raise concerns over rising costs.

The San Francisco overseas Chinese community hosted a New Year flag-raising ceremony, with Fremont Mayor Lily Mei encouraging the next generation to run for office and speak out for Asians. Mei also urged the community to vote robustly in the upcoming T U.S.-Taiwan relations and reminded them not to underestimate individual power. Director-General Scott Lai of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in San Francisco reviewed Taiwan’s accomplishments last year, highlighting its rise in various indices, ranking second in freedom in Asia and sixth in global competitiveness. Lai also noted the meeting between Morris Chang, founder of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC), and key U.S. officials at the 2023 Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit, praising it as a symbol of U.S. executive branch support for Taiwan. However, Lai acknowledged challenges lie ahead for Taiwan, particularly in its tourism, sightseeing, and restaurant industries’ recovery, as well as social issues such as declining birthrates and wealth disparity. Lai assured that the government would take a more proactive and responsible stance to make positive changes felt by the public.

The Kuomintang (KMT) presidential candidate, Hou Yu-ih, listed the ten major policy failures of the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) during a livestream presidential debate. These failures include ineffective energy policies, food safety violations, deteriorated public security, debt burdening future generations, critical issues in people’s livelihoods, housing injustice, rising cross-strait military threats, plummeting wages, skyrocketing house prices, and ineffective pandemic responses. Hou elaborated on specific examples such as solar power corruption, tainted food black market dealings, overspending on ＂forward-looking＂ infrastructures, a lack of electricity and water, regulatory failure in the National Communications Commission (NCC), failed social housing policies, the threatening potential of military conflict, income inequality at a ten-year high, and around 20,000 deaths during the COVID-19 pandemic. Hou expressed regret over his opponent, DPP presidential candidate Lai Ching-te’s campaign methods, accusing him of slander and displaying incompetence and unscrupulousness. Hou confirmed his opposition to Taiwanese independence while claiming that Lai advocated for it. He also criticized former Taipei Mayor and current Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) presidential candidate Ko Wen-je for not responding to this issue. Hou emphasized his lifelong pledge to remain loyal to the Republic of China’s flag and safeguard Taiwan’s democratic freedom.

Taipei mayoral candidate Ko Wen-je criticized his opponent Lai Ching-te’s ＂Bilingual 2030＂ policy, arguing that it lacks a comprehensive plan and causes panic among educators and parents. Ko identified three major issues in Taiwan’s education system: limited social mobility for underprivileged children, a gap between school curriculum and society’s needs, and a lack of alignment with international practices. He also highlighted the disparity in educational opportunities between higher socio-economic families and disadvantaged ones. Ko criticized the existing bilingual education policy for lacking a concrete path to realization.

A new poll by My Formosa reveals that support for the Democratic Progressive Party’s (DPP) Lai-Hsiao ticket has decreased to 37.8%, while the Kuomintang’s (KMT) Hou-Kang ticket is close behind at 32.6%. The Taiwan People’s Party’s (TPP) Ko-Ying ticket has seen an increase in support, rising to 17.3%. The poll reflects public concern over Lai Ching-te’s alleged illegal building and potential tax evasion issues, which he has addressed emotionally in public and during TV interviews. In contrast, Hou Yu-ih’s housing policy, which aims to eliminate down payments for young homebuyers, has sparked significant social debate. This poll is part of an extended series of surveys conducted from July 17, 2023, to Jan. 12, 2024, with each wave occurring every three days. The sampling process involved the use of landline numbers from Chunghwa Telecom’s residential phonebook, employing stratified random sampling matched by proportional allocation, and incorporating a technique to randomly substitute the last two digits to avoid excluding unregistered numbers. The poll reached 1,201 respondents, achieving a 95% confidence level with a maximum sampling error of ±2.8%.

The ＂Taiwan 2023 Character of the Year＂ poll announced that the character ＂缺＂ (lack) received the most votes, representing the multifaceted social issues faced by Taiwan. The character symbolizes challenges such as shortages of water, electricity, masks, vaccines, rapid test kits, labor, and notably, eggs. ＂蛋＂ (egg) secured the second position, forming the term ＂缺蛋＂ (lack eggs), highlighting the egg scarcity in Taiwan. ＂詐＂ (fraud) came in third place, reflecting the persistent fraud cases in Taiwanese society. The nominations for these characters were made by Taoyuan Mayor Simon Chang, former Control Yuan President Wang Chien-shien, and Taiwan Mobile President Jamie Lin, who emphasized growing insecurity, political quality, and fraud issues, respectively. The ＂Taiwan 2023 Character of the Year＂ election, organized by the CTBC Foundation for Arts and Culture and the United Daily News, received a total of 65,043 votes from the public over a 25-day period. This annual character selection has been conducted for 16 consecutive years, reflecting the pulse of Taiwanese society and its people’s thoughts.

Several civic groups in Taiwan, including the Modern Women’s Foundation and the Garden of Hope Foundation (GOH), are urging presidential candidates to prioritize violence prevention as an investment to end violence against women. According to the United Nations, one-third of women globally experience physical or sexual abuse at least once in their lives. The Modern Women’s Foundation Executive Secretary, Wu Zi-ying, highlighted the lack of investigation on these issues within Taiwan. Social work and policy professor Wang Pei-ling revealed that around 70 percent of individuals aged 18 to 74 in Taiwan have experienced online gender-based violence, with image-based violence accounting for 4.6 percent. Wang also emphasized the increasing number of male victims, which now stands at 20 percent. GOH CEO Wang Yueh-hao called on the government to promote interdepartmental initiatives and establish think tanks for gender violence prevention, emphasizing that gender violence is a violation of human rights.

A civilian group from Taiwan, the Taiwan Youth Climate Coalition (TWYCC), unveiled the ＂Songshan Declaration＂ at a side event related to the upcoming 28th UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP28) in Dubai. The declaration calls for fair transition strategies to combat climate change. TWYCC representative Gina Lee highlighted the controversial solar energy development in Tainan’s Qigu area, discussing its negative impact on local aquaculture fishers. The group also explored examples of just transition, such as solar development in Cigu and the electrification of scooters, expressing concern about the government’s lack of dialogue with youth. The ＂Songshan Declaration＂ was jointly initiated by stakeholders from Taiwan’s industries, government, academia, and civil society, pledging to enforce the Climate Change Response Act and engage in the global stocktake. Chen Hui-ping, Chairperson of the Taiwan Green Energy for Charity Association, shared experiences of enabling social change through the ＂Green Well (GW) 100+＂ initiative, which has installed solar power systems for underprivileged communities and conducted energy audits and equipment replacements in social welfare institutions. The association emphasized that their model of green charity fosters wider stakeholder participation and contributes positively to the energy transition.

The Legislative Yuan’s Social Welfare and Environmental Hygiene Committee reviewed proposed amendments to the Assisted Reproduction Act, including one that would allow a surviving spouse to use embryos for having children after the death of their partner. The Ministry of Health and Welfare is considering expanding the legislation to include same-sex couples, single individuals, and surrogate pregnancies. Minister of Health and Welfare Hsueh Jui-yuan suggested a public hearing to gather feedback due to the ethical, legal, and child welfare considerations involved. The current law only permits assisted reproduction for married couples, excluding single women and lesbian couples. Taiwan also does not currently recognize surrogacy as legal, creating unresolved issues regarding the parental status of children born through such arrangements. The debate reflects the government’s attempt to address societal changes and demographic challenges, particularly concerns about population decline.

The Chinese National Federation of Industries (CNFI) will host the ＂2023 Taiwan Economic Development Forum — Dialogue with Future National Leaders＂ on Nov. 27, 29-30. The forum aims to address critical issues for Taiwan’s economic development, including industrial development, energy, environmental protection, labor force, taxation, international trade, cross-strait economic relations, long-term care, and social insurance. Key candidates for the upcoming presidential election, including Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) Chairman Ko Wen-je, Kuomintang (KMT) New Taipei Mayor Hou Yu-ih, and Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) presidential candidate Lai Ching-te, will present their policies and participate in discussions. The forum will be presided over by CNFI Chairman Matthew F.C. Miau, Chinese National Association of Industry and Commerce (CNAIC) Chairman Thomas Wu, and General Chamber of Commerce of the Republic of China (ROCCOC) Chairman Paul Hsu. The event will take place at the Taipei International Convention Center (TICC).

Kuomintang (KMT) presidential candidate Hou Yu-ih emphasized his dedication to protecting Taiwan’s homeland and national security at a campaign event in Tainan City. He addressed unresolved cross-strait issues, such as the United States listing Taiwan as a military aid country and the increasing number of Chinese military aircraft entering Taiwan’s air defense identification zone. Hou affirmed that national security is his top priority and that he has committed his life’s work to safeguarding Taiwan, promising not to betray the island nation. He believes Taiwan is at a critical juncture, choosing between war and peace, and stressed the importance of maintaining social order, avoiding collusion between government officials and businesses, and prioritizing economic development.