Taiwan Stories 2: Is It Popular in Taiwan?

        Nowadays, it is seen as a virtuous act that giving

up one’s seat to the elder, pregnant and crippled on train and bus. Not only do the good citizens do it to show their respect for charity, but also the regional governments of Taiwan intend to promote it as a model of moral etiquette and civic-mindness. It seems that almost everyone take it for granted. But here, we have to ask a question. Do people’s deeds really agree with their thoughts? Does the governments’ promotion really succeed in cultivating civic virtue of Taiwan?

        According to DMR center’s research about the civic quality of Taiwan, one of these research questions is: “Do you think that giving up one’s seat to the elderly, women and children on bus and MRT is popular in Taiwan?” Unfortunately, 34.6% people approve it but there are still 37.8% disapprove, which shows the difficulty of this promotion. Moreover, the general disagreement for this issue among young generation (20-29 year-old) is specifically emphasized, which is at the rate of 39.1%. Besides the official statics, the most direct view of this failure of civic promotion can be seen from our daily lives. During my years of experience taking public transportation, I observe that those who give out their seats are mostly 30-45 year-olds, and yet the majority of them are females. Sometimes students also give their seats to people who really need them, but normally lots of them just sit there and pretend to fall asleep. It is a sad thing though, this situation should be a warning to Taiwanese as well as the government to think more about our civic education!