Taiwan's Controversial Issues Comes To a vote
By Lucas Tam
Do you like the ocean? There will be a referendum this week and one of the topics we need to vote on is cultural preservation. This is the “care for Algae Reef Referendum”. The government plans to build a power plant next to the algae reefs. This is important because it will become a big part in Taiwan's ecosystem. But, I believe that we should vote no to building a power plant because of it's damage it can create to society. You should try to listen to me because putting a big power plant could ruin many animals and humans lives. I will talk about the Taoyuan algae reef situation, why it can ruin culture, and what could happen if they do build it.
In Taiwan, there are many different algae reefs. But one in Taoyuan could possibly get destroyed. This algae reef ecosystem in Taoyuan, Taiwan expands along approximately 27 kilometers of the Taoyuan coastline in Taiwan and is a special biotic ecosystem compounded of more than 7,500 years of history. Hidden in plain sight during the day, this prolific reef comes to life at dusk with thousands of fish, crabs and macroinvertebrates rising to the water’s surface. This is another reason of why we should not build the natural gas place. It could kill many living things in the sea. But, the algae reef did suffer destruction from industrial development and pollution throughout the last 50 years, and the remaining healthy area of the reef is under threat from a liquefied natural gas (LNG) receiving port project.
Culture is very important to many people. If you ruin it then those people won't feel as happy as they were before. The moving of the natural gas place could kill many animals in the sea. This also means that fisherman won't be able to fish. Fishing is basically culture for many fisherman. They feel happy doing this and probably don't want to quit. If you kill all the fish, they won't have any joy in life and it will become harder to get food.
If the people vote to build it, then some pros and cons will happen. The pros are that natural gas is ecofriendly, safer and easier to store when compared to other fossil fuels, extremely reliable, unlike electric power that can be knocked out during a storm, and is less expensive than other fossil fuels. This is all good but there are also some cons. Building this could possibly kill animals, emits carbon dioxide which is bad for our atmosphere, and a constant introduction of carbon dioxide into our atmosphere will lead to climate change or global warming. Climate change is crucial to the environment and to the people. Climate change can change the earth's weather patters, in the future the earth could be like Antarctica if we don't act now.
All in all, explaining about the Taoyuan algae reef situation, why it can ruin culture, and what could happen if they do build it could help you to vote. We should vote no because of the ruining of culture in this world. Culture is important to the old and young of Earth. You should try to participate in a type of culture that you know about. You should also try to convince any of your Taiwan friends to vote no in this week's referendum. The ocean is home to many living things, many people love the ocean. If you don't, then it's ok. Just imagine having your home destroyed.
台灣有爭議的問題進行表決
你喜歡大海嗎？本週將舉行全民公投，我們需要投票的主題之一是文化保護。這就是“關愛藻礁公投”。政府計劃在藻礁旁邊建造一座發電廠。這很重要，因為它將成為台灣生態系統的重要組成部分。但是，我認為我們應該對建造發電廠投反對票，因為它會對社會造成損害。你應該試著聽我說，因為建造一座大型發電廠可能會毀掉許多動物和人類的生命。我會談談桃園藻礁的情況，為什麼它會破壞文化，如果他們建造它會發生什麼。
在台灣，有許多不同的藻礁。但是桃園的一個可能會被摧毀。這個位於台灣桃園的藻礁生態系統沿台灣桃園海岸線延伸約27公里，是一個複合了7500多年曆史的特殊生物生態系統。這座多產的珊瑚礁在白天隱藏在顯眼的地方，在黃昏時會生機勃勃，成千上萬的魚、螃蟹和大型無脊椎動物浮出水面。這是我們不應該建造天然氣場所的另一個原因。它可以殺死海裡的許多生物。但是，在過去的 50 年裡，藻礁確實遭受了工業發展和污染的破壞，珊瑚礁剩餘的健康區域正受到液化天然氣 (LNG) 接收港項目的威脅。
文化對許多人來說非常重要。如果你毀了它，那麼那些人就不會像以前那樣快樂了。天然氣位置的移動可能會殺死海中的許多動物。這也意味著漁夫將無法捕魚。釣魚基本上是許多漁民的文化。他們覺得這樣做很高興，可能不想放棄。如果你把所有的魚都殺了，它們的生活將沒有任何樂趣，而且更難獲得食物。
如果人們投票支持建造它，那麼就會發生一些利弊。優點是，與其他化石燃料相比，天然氣更環保、更安全、更容易儲存，而且非常可靠，不像在風暴中會斷電的電力，而且比其他化石燃料便宜。這一切都很好，但也有一些缺點。建造這個可能會殺死動物，排放對我們的大氣有害的二氧化碳，並且不斷將二氧化碳引入我們的大氣將導致氣候變化或全球變暖。氣候變化對環境和人民都至關重要。氣候變化可以改變地球的天氣模式，如果我們現在不採取行動，未來地球可能會像南極洲一樣。
總而言之，解釋桃園藻礁的情況，為什麼它會破壞文化，如果他們建造它會發生什麼，可以幫助你投票。我們應該投反對票，因為這個世界正在毀滅文化。文化對地球上的老人和年輕人都很重要。您應該嘗試參與一種您所了解的文化。你也應該試著說服你的任何台灣朋友在本週的公投中投反對票。海洋是許多生物的家園，許多人熱愛海洋。如果你不這樣做，那沒關係。想像一下你的家被毀了。
我對公投的感受
在公投期間，我觀察到報紙上有很多值得閱讀的內容。我還觀察到，公投與我們在藻礁實地考察中所看到的有關。我所關心的公投是關於文化的公投。捕魚本可以從漁民手中奪走。釣魚是他們的工作和生活。看到結果後，感覺很好，因為4個提案都被拒絕了。現在，我們可以找到一種方法來保護藻礁，並儘量避免將來發生類似的事情。
Image Source:https://www.thinkchina.sg/japanese-academic-taiwans-national-referendum-vote-shows-democracy-work