WEBVTT

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When I was in high school,

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I was very interested in aesthetic photography.

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After graduating, I went to do my military service.

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Afterwards,

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I thought I could take classes

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and work at the same time,

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but I found that schools

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are more theoretical.

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Then, I figured,

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maybe going straight into the industry

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will be more practical.

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I started out like an apprentice,

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learning from the basics.

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This was an important phase for me

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to hone the technique.

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When I was younger, I loved to

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shoot artistic landscape photos.

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Nature, ecological environment, scenery and such,

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until I read some journalistic literature

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that talked about environmental damage

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or issues regarding the underprivileged.

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I found out that,

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our real-life environmental issues

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are scarcely reported in mainstream media.

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That gave me the idea to document the environment.

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This was back in the 1990s,

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when I went to the Wangliao Village in Dongshi

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to document their seawater flooding.

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When Typhoon Yancy hit Taiwan,

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the Taiyen embankment next to Dongshi Wangliao Village

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was compromised, which led to

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saltwater intrusion and

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trapped almost the entire village.

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I went there to document.

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I learned that their whole village

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had been flooded by seawater for over a month.

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The mainstream media didn’t care at all.

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I saw the plight of the underprivileged,

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which motivated me

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to devote myself completely

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to documenting environmental change

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and the socially vulnerable,

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all the way till now.

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It’s been over 30 years.

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Around

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1987,

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I came here to document.

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Where we are standing now used to be

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the intertidal zone.

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When the tide ebbs,

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local villagers would dig for clams here.

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There are more clams out there.

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They’re here.

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Oh, they’re here now.

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They are here now,

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over there where the  broken boat is.

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The earlier environment

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was relatively more stable.

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After the environment changed,

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fishermen that relied on the natural beach for a living

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lost their traditional industry.

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To cultivate your creativity,

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you have to first understand

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what you are truly interested in.

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After confirming this,

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you have to implement it thoroughly.

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I knew that I wanted to

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focus on nature and ecological environment,

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and I need to traverse mountains and the sea.

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So during my military service,

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I volunteered to train in the special forces

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so that I would have the physical abilities

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to adapt to all sorts of challenging environments.

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After being discharged,

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I learned various outdoor skills,

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such as scuba diving for filming underwater,

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and professional mountain climbing training.

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I learned steadily,

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one step at a time,

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to accumulate different skills and abilities.

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When filming underwater,

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the general safety range is around

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18 meters and above.

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Once, on Green Island,

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I dived nearly 70 meters deep,

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exceeding the safety range.

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That time, I developed a bit of nitrogen narcosis.

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I knew that

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I was entering a dangerous zone,

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but I risked going in

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to film some of the rare

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ecological images

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or environmental issues, and bring them back

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to promote communication

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and understanding.

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I think Mr. Ko is someone

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with a very strong will.

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That’s how he was able to

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spend 20, 30 years to continue documenting,

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especially in these places that

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are not easily accessible.

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Environmental documentation,

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for Mr. Ko,

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is not just a profession.

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He thinks of it as a meaning of life

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and his aspiration.

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In 2008,

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Kuokuang Petrochemical planned to set up a factory

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on the Changhua Southwest Coast beach.

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I was worried that,

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if the factory was built here,

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the local fishermen will be

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the first affected.

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They have farmed oysters here

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for at least over 200 years.

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If the factory comes in,

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200 years of traditional industry will be lost.

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So I kept coming in to document this,

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and spread their voices as much as possible,

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so the outside world can know.

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The harvest isn’t good.

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One line only has two or three.

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For one line?

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Yeah.

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Were they eaten by sea snails?

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No, they fell off.

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They fell off.

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They all look like this.

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All gone.

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So you can’t harvest them.

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Gone.

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I believe the progression of my work

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is kind of like planting seeds.

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This seed will one day grow,

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we just need to give it time.

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We might not see the results in 5, 10 years,

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but in 20 or 30 years,

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it will happen somewhere.

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So for many things,

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as long as you keep working on it, you will accumulate,

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and if you accumulate you will create strength.

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At some point, it will be sure to

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create a beautiful spark.