High living costs and stagnant wages continue to induce a lot of stress and anxiety among young adults in Taiwan. Every election season these issues are brought up and magnified for political purposes.
Sensationalist pundits and candidates have focused disproportionately on polarizing talking points at the expense of rational debates.
Some claim that the nation’s “inept” politicians cannot get anything right. Furthermore, they sanctimoniously declare that only their party has the interests of the people in their mind. “Taiwan is doomed without them,” they say.
Unavoidably, an overbearing sense of hopelessness and lack of confidence in our democracy are created by such talking points.
A winter of discontent looms over the minds of young people. Why can Taiwan not be more like other developed nations, which seem to have it figured out?
Sure, there are many flaws in the two-party system, which often seems to be entrenched in an endless and vicious zero-sum game. Nevertheless, in times like these, putting things in perspective helps. Taiwan is not all doom and gloom, even when compared with other developed nations.
Taiwan continues to rank highly in freedom indices. Last year’s Human Freedom Index, published by the Cato Institute and the Fraser Institute, ranked Taiwan 14th out of the 165 jurisdictions it evaluated.
Elsewhere in the world, conservatives and religious fundamentalists have joined forces to encroach on basic freedoms, such as the right to abortion. For instance, since the US Supreme Court ended the constitutional right to an abortion, it has been banned in 15 states. Although abortions remain conditional in Taiwan under the Genetic Health Act (優生保健法), due to the act’s vagueness, practically any woman can terminate her pregnancy.
The World Press Freedom Index, published by Reporters Without Borders, ranked Taiwan 35th out of 180 countries and territories evaluated. In comparison, the US was 45th and Japan was 68th.
Contrary to what some sensationalist pundits want people to believe, reports of the death of free speech have been greatly exaggerated. While the government has ramped up its efforts to combat disinformation, there is no conspiracy to end free speech.
Furthermore, high accessibility to the Internet has led to the rise of high-quality and in-depth news podcasts — a worthy challenger to mainstream news — on YouTube and other social media platforms.
The Global Health Care Index by Country published by Numbeo ranked Taiwan first. Taiwan operates one of the best healthcare systems even compared with countries like Canada, which also has universal healthcare.
My friend who studies in Canada had to wait more than five months before he met with a specialist for his severe back pain. This is not unusual for Canadians seeking specialist physicians. Surveys show a median wait time of more than 20 weeks between referral and treatment.
When he returned to Taiwan, he had access to a specialist almost immediately.
In the middle of this political fog of war, people need a reminder that although they should always strive to build a better society, they already live in a rather fine one.
Linus Chiou is a part-time writer based in Kaohsiung.
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