Taiwan Tati Cultural and Educational Foundation

Better alert procedures needed

Taipei Times Editorial

The government on Tuesday issued a presidential alert via mobile phone networks after China launched a satellite into orbit, with its launch vehicle passing over southern Taiwan.

The alert has been criticized for a number of reasons, including the anxiety it caused, the mistranslation of its content into English and the lack of useful instructions on what actions to take.

It was argued on social media that the alert was made to warn the public about possible falling debris from the launch vehicle. This was likely inferred from the Chinese text, which read: “If you encounter any unknown objects, report the sighting to police or fire personnel” (若發現不明物體，通報警消人員處理).

Ad brings welcome perspective

Knight Chang 張天泰

With Taiwan’s presidential election fast approaching, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) released a campaign advertisement for its presidential candidate Vice President William Lai (賴清德) and his running mate Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴). The ad, on the theme of “On the Road,” has been viewed and “liked” by a huge number of people across various social media platforms.

The video starts with Lai and outgoing President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) traveling in a car, with Tsai at the wheel, talking about their cooperation in government over the past few years. After a while the car stops, Tsai gets out and in steps Hsiao, as Lai takes the wheel. After Tsai bids them farewell, Lai and Hsiao drive off, while talking about what direction they should take from now on.

The times they are a-changing

Taipei Times Editorial

Taiwanese-American Amy Lee submitted a letter to the Taipei Times yesterday morning. It is printed on this page. It is about Saturday’s presidential election, but more generally is about the perceptions and misperceptions overseas about Taiwan and about the right of Taiwanese not only to make their own decisions about their future, but also to take control of how they perceive their past and their identity.

Two phrases stand out: “So I grew up correcting those who mistake Taiwan for Thailand, the Burmese flag as ours,” and “As the world enjoyed our bubble milk tea, I could barely swallow mine.”

Failed Han should not be speaker

Lin Bo-feng 林伯峰

The Kaohsiung Metro’s circular light rail line has finally been completed, with the soft opening of its final section on Dec. 31 last year. This moment had been delayed for two years, mostly because of former Kaohsiung mayor Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜), who was in office for a year and a half without achieving anything. The first thing he did on taking office in December 2018 was to suspend construction of the light rail line, which was not resumed until two years later.

Han had no particular reason for halting the construction, except that the circular line was a policy achievement of Kaohsiung’s previous Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) administration, which made him unwilling to carry on where the DPP left off. Han’s suspension of the project completely ignored the needs of Kaohsiung residents and the overall plan for the municipality’s infrastructure. Kaohsiung residents were frustrated, but at first there was nothing they could do.

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