Our Ocean, Taiwan’s Devotion
The theme of the Youth Ambassadors’ visit was “Our Ocean, Taiwan’s Devotion.” The main event was the Climate Change Youth Forum, organized by Taiwan’s embassy in Palau. At the forum, young people from both countries delivered reports on various topics, including rising sea levels and water shortages caused by climate change, as well as sustainable development.
In her remarks at the forum, Constance H. Wang, director-general of the Department of NGO International Affairs at Taiwan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA), who led the Youth Ambassadors delegation, pointed out that climate change is an issue that faces the entire globe. Taiwan and Palau in particular, as island nations, are on the front lines of the impact of climate change. However, the two countries do not need to be simply victims of the adverse effects of climate change, but both can be change makers who take effective action.
Angel Chen, a sophomore at National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University (NYCU), presented a study at the forum on how Taiwan’s semiconductor industry accesses water resources during the dry season. She mentioned that the industry uses as much water in one year as all of Palau’s households use in ten. Yet this enormous demand is able to be met through a combination of strategies such as allocation and scheduling of water by the government, wastewater recycling, and water-saving improvements to production processes. Roy Yan, an MA student in the Graduate Institute of Translation and Interpretation at National Taiwan Normal University, presented a report on the problem of rising sea levels, which affects both Taiwan and Palau. The presentations by these two Youth Ambassadors not only sparked questions from the audience, including queries from members of Palau’s business community on topics related to energy transformation, such as Taiwan’s green energy industry, offshore wind power, and electric vehicles, but also prompted intense discussion after the forum.
Palau’s economy relies heavily on tourism, and Youth Ambassadors Ellia Hsieh, Vichy Tsai, and Jasmine Cheng shared Taiwan’s experience with the transformation of the fisheries and tourism industries in response to climate change. Ngiraibelas Tmetuchl, Palau’s minister of human resources, culture, tourism, and development, attended the entire forum, and he commented positively on the reports by Taiwan’s Youth Ambassadors. Besides pointing out problems, he said, they also proposed solutions, leaving a deep impression on listeners.
The island nation of Palau boasts beautiful ocean scenery.(photos by Ho Chen-wei)