Over the last 20 years, Taiwan has gradually established a pool of scientific talent; the quality of its research has been growing by the day; and the first steps have been taken to develop science for the purpose of improving people's lives.

At a time of limitless expectations about a prosperous future, we have no way to avoid the heavy costs of technology: environmental pollution, the rapid depletion of natural resources, and even human vulgarity.

Another value system: Lin Ho, the head of the atmospheric science department at National Taiwan University, points out that since the 17th century the scientific world has chugged down a single track on which scientific knowledge has accumulated. The wheels of technological progress are already impossible to stop from turning. There is no way to turn back. We have even less chance of asking all countries to call a halt to technological competition. And even if technology could be disentangled from all aspects of life, we still couldn't get to the root of the problem.

We cannot sever ourselves from the realities of the present day. We still need technology to prevent decline that would lead to poverty, "But when we are already free from want, we should adopt another value system." Lin Ho believes that modern technology is closely connected to people's lives. These in the scientific community ought to consider their public responsibilities. Every once in a while, they ought to turn around and consider such questions as these: Must we always blindly compare our level of technological development to those of other countries? Whom is technological development serving in this society? Should we use our resources in other ways?

"Our decisions about technology have to be based on our values," says Lin Ho. "For example, do we want military technology or green technology? Shall we develop high-temperature superconductivity for use in military weapons or for major breakthroughs in the information industry, reducing the need for paper so that the forests and other related forms of life can indirectly receive less harm?"

Don't become slaves to technology: Whether technology serves man or man serves technology is still man's choice. The example of the former Soviet Union has woken people up: it proves that blindly seeking after technological advancement can neither guarantee people's happiness nor provide support for the most basic of human needs.

In this age, we should work hard to obtain a multi-layered understanding of technology from many perspectives that is combined with an understanding of humanity. Sun Chih-wen, the author of People and Technology, points out that technological thought has already taken over engineering, agriculture, commerce, communications systems, and educational structures. "Only by possessing critical self awareness can one not lose one's way in the midst of technology." Otherwise, as technological knowledge grows ever more abundant, one will increasingly forget why technological knowledge exists.

The rapid development of technology has resulted in a gap between the living standards of the highly industrialized countries and the underdeveloped countries. As a result, the 1.2 billion people in the advanced industrial countries consume seven-eighths of the resources. And the four billion residents of the "Third World" are faced with hunger in many areas. This is also a topic that those involved in science and technology ought to consider.

Hence, in discussing national security, transportation and other such issues, one cannot merely turn one's attention to technological choices. For example, in developing transportation we must pay attention to how future cars and airplanes will affect cities and the environment. In researching technology development plans for the future we must consider things from a global perspective. Such issues as environmental protection, technological support for the developing countries and the rational use of global resources cannot be overlooked.

A moral technology: Den Chi-fu, the dean of studies of National Chiao Tung University and the former vice chairman of National Science Council, says we need to be internationally minded and take responsibility for the earth--for example, by participating in the worldwide "Global Change" plan, which is concerned about damage to the global environment.

We also ought to use our technological accomplishments to benefit all people. We should open up such national laboratories as the Synchrotron Radiation Research Center and the High Speed Computer Center for the entire world, in particular providing opportunities for countries that cannot yet support their own research facilities. In the view of Den Chi-fu, this kind of mind-set represents the highest level of technological power.

[Picture Caption]

Developing technology requires a global perspective. (Photo by Diago Chiu)