Common Health magazine (
Researchers said the finding is no surprise and is a consequence of what it called the government's blinkered preoccupation with economic development over past decades.
Targeting 23 cities and counties and 3,536 residents, the magazine inquired into several issues relating to the environment and living standards, which are considered by the World Health Organization as benchmarks to determine whether a city is healthy.
Taitung, Hualien and Ilan counties are considered by their residents to be the most "suitable" areas to live in; while Kaohsiung County, Kaohsiung City, Taipei County, Taipei City, Taichung County and Taichung City lie at the bottom of the "suitability" rankings.
Residents in Penghu County are the most satisfied with the quality of their security; while those of Taichung City are the least satisfied with theirs.
Ilan County ranks top for "suitability as a place to raise children" and "convenience for the elderly," while Taipei City ranked as the lowest in both categories.
The survey was based on residents' feelings toward their areas but referred also to official statistics.
"There is no champion in this survey," said the magazine's managing editor Michelle Lee
"Areas with better environments suffered economic difficulties. But residents in more prosperous cities complained about unsafe and unhealthy environments."
"The negative impact of Taiwan's unbalanced development shows," added Lee, pointing out that, while Taipei City is considered to be the worst city for children and young people, many parents from outside Taipei still strive to send their children to study in the capital's schools where the educational facilities are considered to be of a higher standard.
Taichung City and Taipei City ranked at the bottom of many of the standings, but nevertheless came first and second for most interviewees faced with the question "Which city would you prefer to live in?" category.
Such apparent inconsistencies in survey results are very common and reflect Taiwan's "twisted" development, according to Hsia Chu-joe (夏鑄九), a professor of city planning at National Taiwan University.
"Taiwan is seriously ill," said Hsia, "It's because of the dominant ideology's focus on economic development over the past 30 years."
"Taiwanese have become slaves of the myth that a government pursuing GNP growth is a good government."
"Our society lacks the capacity for independent thought, "Hsia stressed.
Hsia took Penghu County as an example of failure. He said Penghu Island should logically turn to tourism as a means of economic development, "but all the buildings on the island are too ugly to foster tourism."
"Only sick people would make a city so ugly," he added.
Hsia emphasized that the public should be more aware of the pitfalls of unitary economic development and should maintain awareness of the government's efforts at city planning.
"The citizens' awareness is the only hope for bettering Taiwan."
STILL COMMITTED: The US opposes any forced change to the ‘status quo’ in the Strait, but also does not seek conflict, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said US President Donald Trump’s administration released US$5.3 billion in previously frozen foreign aid, including US$870 million in security exemptions for programs in Taiwan, a list of exemptions reviewed by Reuters showed. Trump ordered a 90-day pause on foreign aid shortly after taking office on Jan. 20, halting funding for everything from programs that fight starvation and deadly diseases to providing shelters for millions of displaced people across the globe. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who has said that all foreign assistance must align with Trump’s “America First” priorities, issued waivers late last month on military aid to Israel and Egypt, the
France’s nuclear-powered aircraft carrier and accompanying warships were in the Philippines yesterday after holding combat drills with Philippine forces in the disputed South China Sea in a show of firepower that would likely antagonize China. The Charles de Gaulle on Friday docked at Subic Bay, a former US naval base northwest of Manila, for a break after more than two months of deployment in the Indo-Pacific region. The French carrier engaged with security allies for contingency readiness and to promote regional security, including with Philippine forces, navy ships and fighter jets. They held anti-submarine warfare drills and aerial combat training on Friday in
COMBAT READINESS: The military is reviewing weaponry, personnel resources, and mobilization and recovery forces to adjust defense strategies, the defense minister said The military has released a photograph of Minister of National Defense Wellington Koo (顧立雄) appearing to sit beside a US general during the annual Han Kuang military exercises on Friday last week in a historic first. In the photo, Koo, who was presiding over the drills with high-level officers, appears to be sitting next to US Marine Corps Major General Jay Bargeron, the director of strategic planning and policy of the US Indo-Pacific Command, although only Bargeron’s name tag is visible in the seat as “J5 Maj General.” It is the first time the military has released a photo of an active
CHANGE OF MIND: The Chinese crew at first showed a willingness to cooperate, but later regretted that when the ship arrived at the port and refused to enter Togolese Republic-registered Chinese freighter Hong Tai (宏泰號) and its crew have been detained on suspicion of deliberately damaging a submarine cable connecting Taiwan proper and Penghu County, the Coast Guard Administration said in a statement yesterday. The case would be subject to a “national security-level investigation” by the Tainan District Prosecutors’ Office, it added. The administration said that it had been monitoring the ship since 7:10pm on Saturday when it appeared to be loitering in waters about 6 nautical miles (11km) northwest of Tainan’s Chiang Chun Fishing Port, adding that the ship’s location was about 0.5 nautical miles north of the No.
RSS