Anna Lee: Information Technology

Although the information technology was developed long time ago in Taiwan, its popularity has grown in the last ten years. The sweeping changes brought about by computing and communication technology offer Taiwan a good opportunity to become the largest computer equipment supplier in the world. Many computer professionals and workers; therefore, became wealthy. The ratio of people owning computers versus the total population of Taiwan is increasing. It’s reported that currently each family in Taiwan owns at least two computers. Email, Blog, and online learning have changed the way people communicate with each other. For the past ten years the information technology boom in Taiwan has also changed the way I search literature for my work and the way I communicate with others.

First at all, the information technology boom in Taiwan has changed the way I search literature for my work. As a teacher and a researcher, I need current and relevant references to enrich the content of my teaching and ensure the consistency and appropriateness of my research proposals and manuscripts. In the past, I had to go to the library to search books and journals in person. Sometimes, if a specific journal was missing, I needed to file a request and hoped that the librarian could find it in other libraries. However, with the assistance of a computer, now, I could stay home doing online searching efficiently and easily and never worry about the problem of missing important articles. Furthermore, I used to use a typewriter to prepare my handouts for the class and to write research proposals and manuscripts ten years ago. If a mistake was made, then I had to retype it. However, using the computer, I can easily correct mistakes and reorganize sentences. Moreover, the style of calligraphy is changeable, so I can select the most suitable letterform for my writing.

Secondly, the information technology boom in Taiwan has changed the way I communicate with others. While I was in Chicago for a short-term study several years ago, the airmail was the only option for sending oversea mails. It took more than two weeks to get a response back from my friends in Taiwan, which made me upset and worried. However, nowadays, in only one second, I can send a letter to my friend through email. Furthermore, MSN and Skype can let me hear or see my friends no matter how far the distance is. My mother lives in south of Taiwan and has no computer. The cost of sending a letter from Toronto to Taiwan is triple the cost of sending a letter from the opposite direction, and it takes about two weeks. After several weeks struggling and waiting for letters; I finally found a faster and cost-effective way to do it; that is, I email a letter to my sister who lives in north of Taiwan and she prints it out and mails it to my mother. It only needs CAD $ 15 cents and one day to deliver the letter to my mother’s house.

In conclusion, the digital revolution in information technology has changed
not only my personal life but also the whole world. It accelerates the information exchange. Although some people might think of the slow pace of the old time, the advancement of information technology is inevitable. The best way is to keep up with the pace and catch up with it.

Anna Lee: Globalization

In order to develop the relationships with other countries and expand the international trade market, the government of ROC became a member of the World Trade Organization (WTO) and followed the rules on the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) several years ago. Since then, businesses on goods, services, exporters, and importers have become much more globalized. Globalization has increased the interconnection between Taiwanese and people from other countries. There were three major changes caused by globalization in Taiwan: job opportunities, culture, and fashion.

Globalization has changed job opportunities in Taiwan. Globalization advances progress in the field of information especially in information technology and international communication. Information flows much more easily because of innovations such as the Internet. Internet has allowed not only the government but also private corporations to communicate with international businesses more efficiently. The advancement of technology created an easier environment for financial transactions to occur in a global market. As a result, globalization should lead to more employment when the government or private corporations receive more orders and expand their business. However, the import of labor from South Asia and China makes cheaper labor possible which lowers the average salary. As a result, the job opportunities for local Taiwanese are threatened.

Globalization has changed Taiwanese culture. As the number of workers or home caregivers from Thailand, Philippine, and Indonesia increases, it is unavoidable that they transmit their own lifestyle to their coworkers or employers. They establish their own churches and stores, which make mixed culture in the community. Moreover, through mixed marriage the breed is mixed. It is estimated that the number of newborns in last year was about 200,000 in Taiwan, one tenth of which were born by mixed marriage.

Globalization has changed Taiwanese fashion. The Taiwanese are already familiar with the fashionable style of clothes, shoes, or hair from Europe or America. Recently, inexpensive clothes and shoes from developing countries have attracted Taiwanese attention. The average price of those goods is much lower than the average price of local merchandises. Some design is appealing to and acceptable by Taiwanese. One other change that globalization brought is food. Fast food such as MacDonald’s, Ken turkey Fries Chicken, Pizza, and other western food already have branches in Taiwan. Those foods are highly accepted by Taiwanese. In addition, there are diversities of restaurants provide foods from South Asia, Thailand, and Vietnam which are also welcomed by Taiwanese.

In conclusion, although some Taiwanese are worried about the job insecurity brought by globalization, there are still some people in favor of globalization. Globalization greatly influences people’s lifestyle. It is possible that one-day, homogeneity could be reached in every aspect of people’s living.

Anna Lee: Military Service

Taiwan (the Republic of China) has had mandatory military service for all males since 1949. Because voluntary enlistment has reached sufficient numbers in recent years, the compulsory service period for draftees was shortened from twenty-four months to fourteen months in 2007. Some Taiwanese believes that military service can train a boy to be a man, which means he will have the traits of responsibility, caring, and courage after the service. However, there are two reasons which make me believe that military service should not be required as a way to develop good citizens.

First al all, I think that education makes a good citizen rather than a military service. A good citizen in different countries has different meanings. In Taiwan, it means that one should be a good neighbor by caring about others, sharing time and skills with the community to make it better, cleaner and safer, conserving resources by practicing the three R’s: Reduce, Re-use, Recycle, and staying informed on issues and voicing one’s opinions by voting. We learn from family when we are little. Parents should serve as positive role-models to teach their children by showing their concern to others, making the community better, and obeying certain rules. Later, we learn from schools on how to be a good citizen. Teachers instill in us the virtue of good citizenship through diverse classes teaching activities. By the time a person goes to military service, he already has his own beliefs and values; it is not easy to change a person’s behavior by a fourteen -month military service.

Secondly, Military service doesn’t always stand for good. A military is like a small world filled with a variety of people, good and bad. Abusing recruits is commonly heard. Sometimes, the drill instructor or old soldiers would cruelly maltreat the recruit and assault him. Therefore, military service is not a good place to learn to be a good citizen. Besides, the purpose of military service is to defend the nation, so its training program is directed for that purpose. Soldiers are trained to be good warriors. They learn how to use machine-gun, how to kill an enemy, and how to camouflage. A well-known kidnapping case happened several years ago in Taiwan. The kidnapper was well trained during his service in the military. The policemen took extreme efforts to capture him because he was an experienced fugitive. He knew how to escape without leaving a trace behind. He even killed a physician because he asked the physician to do a plastic surgery on his face. His behavior was far away from a good citizen.

In conclusion, military service is needed to protect the nation from attack by other nations. Its main purpose is to train soldiers to fight for their country, not to be humble and polite citizens. Therefore, I believe that it is not necessary for someone, man or woman, to be a good citizen through military service.