Why Taiwan’s Citizens are Getting Unhappy

There are four causes indicate that Taiwan’s citizens are getting unhappy. First, as a result of the economic depression here in Taiwan, the residents of Taiwan are unhappy. Many factories moved out of Taiwan for the purpose of cutting costs, and this means both employment opportunities and consumption were reduced at the same time. Many residents here lost their jobs, and lots of companies are suffering business stagnancy. Clark Shien, who had five restaurants, said that 4 of his restaurants had been closed, and the turnover of the remaining one has reduced from about NT$ 7,000,000 to NT$ 4,500,000 per month. Second, because of the high pressure of living, the residents here feel unhappy. Both adults and children are living with high pressure. People in Taiwan have always worked long hours. According to an on-line investigation carried out by the Lien Ho Daily, 63% of the survey group work 62 hours a week. This is 20 hours over the standard set by the Labor Law. Speaking of children or teenagers, most of them have to go to cram schools after school. Even on weekends, they are busy at the different cram schools. Yu Wei-Kuo, a student at one of the best high schools in Taiwan, committed suicide on Oct. 25, 2005. Yu left a letter to his parents saying that he hated going to cram schools like other students did after regular school in order to get better scores. Third, the unhappiness of Taiwan’s citizens is a result of error values. Many people believe that poverty is more shameful than prostitution. So there are many wrong thins in Taiwan such as cheating groups, betel nut beauties, sugar daddy businesses, pursuing famous brand, and so on. Boundless materialism leads to the unhappiness. Many people here have maxed out their credit cards, and some of them committed suicide because they couldn’t pay the debt. Moreover, according to a survey published in the April 2006 issue of Business Weekly, 40% of parents in Taiwan are worrying about the over consumption by their sons or daughters. Finally, our turbulent political situation leads to the unhappiness of Taiwan’s voters. There is serious opposition between both political parties and their respective supporters. Most politicians focus on their own benefits instead of the common goods. Modern politicians offer very few long-term policies. Most of the residents in Taiwan are feeling insecure and hopeless. Roger Chung, a very successful businessman, said that he and his family have felt very unhappy for these last two years, and they are going to emigrate from Taiwan this July.