Loving cleanliness
Rick Chu (
But I'm not sure if Chu has convinced me that we should adopt what he repeatedly refers to as neurotic cleanliness unique to the Japanese people. As he mentions, this labeling of cleanliness as neurotic or uniquely Japanese has caused much resistance and backlash. In order to get people to buy into this conceptual change, we need to get past these labels. Chu's discussion remains steeped in these labels and limiting constructs.
Perhaps a more apt question is: What ever happened to the Taiwanese people's love of cleanliness, which was adopted during the Japanese occupation of Taiwan. Some Taiwanese may recall that during that period, everyone engaged in the annually celebrated ritual of a New Year's cleaning. With the coming of the New Year and its festivities came New Year's cleaning, much like what we call spring cleaning in North America. Out with the old and in with the new.
Houses were meticulously cleaned from top to bottom. Borough wardens inspected individual homes and issued special certificates of recognition for homes dutifully cleaned for the New Year. And families proudly displayed these certificates of honor.
Cleanliness is not necessarily a matter of national identity, though in Japan's case it may be. The Taiwanese need not emulate the Japanese; in fact some might take exception to this simply due to the historical relationship that Taiwan has with Japan.
Taiwan needs to simply focus on improving the quality of life of its residents. This can be done by adopting the virtues of cleanliness, orderliness and accountability. These are virtues that many developed nations adhere to in the interest of maintaining a healthy nation both literally and figuratively.
Felicia Lin
Kaohsiung
Trying to force a partnership between Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC) and Intel Corp would be a wildly complex ordeal. Already, the reported request from the Trump administration for TSMC to take a controlling stake in Intel’s US factories is facing valid questions about feasibility from all sides. Washington would likely not support a foreign company operating Intel’s domestic factories, Reuters reported — just look at how that is going over in the steel sector. Meanwhile, many in Taiwan are concerned about the company being forced to transfer its bleeding-edge tech capabilities and give up its strategic advantage. This is especially
US President Donald Trump last week announced plans to impose reciprocal tariffs on eight countries. As Taiwan, a key hub for semiconductor manufacturing, is among them, the policy would significantly affect the country. In response, Minister of Economic Affairs J.W. Kuo (郭智輝) dispatched two officials to the US for negotiations, and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co’s (TSMC) board of directors convened its first-ever meeting in the US. Those developments highlight how the US’ unstable trade policies are posing a growing threat to Taiwan. Can the US truly gain an advantage in chip manufacturing by reversing trade liberalization? Is it realistic to
The US Department of State has removed the phrase “we do not support Taiwan independence” in its updated Taiwan-US relations fact sheet, which instead iterates that “we expect cross-strait differences to be resolved by peaceful means, free from coercion, in a manner acceptable to the people on both sides of the Strait.” This shows a tougher stance rejecting China’s false claims of sovereignty over Taiwan. Since switching formal diplomatic recognition from the Republic of China to the People’s Republic of China in 1979, the US government has continually indicated that it “does not support Taiwan independence.” The phrase was removed in 2022
US President Donald Trump, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth have each given their thoughts on Russia’s war with Ukraine. There are a few proponents of US skepticism in Taiwan taking advantage of developments to write articles claiming that the US would arbitrarily abandon Ukraine. The reality is that when one understands Trump’s negotiating habits, one sees that he brings up all variables of a situation prior to discussion, using broad negotiations to take charge. As for his ultimate goals and the aces up his sleeve, he wants to keep things vague for
RSS