WEBVTT 00:19.200 --> 00:21.166 I originally wanted to be an author, 00:21.166 --> 00:23.033 and I edited the school magazine in high school. 00:23.033 --> 00:24.566 I wondered if I had it in me 00:24.566 --> 00:26.934 to write some more literary works. 00:26.934 --> 00:28.767 But that changed for me. 00:28.767 --> 00:31.566 After entering the sociology department at NTU, 00:31.566 --> 00:33.966 I felt the impact of several things. 00:33.966 --> 00:36.299 The first thing was that my training in sociology 00:36.299 --> 00:38.233 started to change me, 00:38.233 --> 00:40.033 and I began to see the changes in Taiwan's society 00:40.033 --> 00:42.132 from a structured perspective. 00:44.466 --> 00:46.833 The atmosphere of student movements 00:46.833 --> 00:50.233 inspired me to feel great concern 00:50.233 --> 00:52.265 for the real world outside the university. 00:52.265 --> 00:54.700 A very direct factor was that 00:54.700 --> 00:56.567 Ren Jian Magazine's impact on me. 00:56.567 --> 00:59.265 It used reportage literature as a way to 00:59.265 --> 01:02.132 show concern for people at the bottom of Taiwan's society. 01:02.132 --> 01:04.666 It reported vigorously on disadvantaged groups 01:04.666 --> 01:07.166 that the mainstream media did not want to report on. 01:08.833 --> 01:10.066 I began to feel that 01:10.066 --> 01:11.900 our rapidly changing society 01:11.900 --> 01:13.500 was a critically important matter. 01:13.500 --> 01:16.233 So I shifted my aspiration to 01:16.233 --> 01:17.599 becoming a journalist. 01:19.066 --> 01:20.166 After I completed my military service, 01:20.599 --> 01:21.933 in 1991, 01:21.933 --> 01:23.467 I joined the Liberty Times as a journalist. 01:23.467 --> 01:27.000 In those days, Taiwan was still in transition 01:27.000 --> 01:29.800 to democracy from authoritarian rule, 01:29.800 --> 01:32.599 and many outside forces meddled with the media. 01:32.599 --> 01:33.967 Nowadays, everyone thinks, 01:33.967 --> 01:36.199 Wow, Taiwan's media is so free. 01:36.199 --> 01:37.900 They are enjoying the fruits of freedom of the press. 01:37.900 --> 01:39.967 Actually, 30-odd years ago, 01:39.967 --> 01:42.000 we were still in a transition period. 01:42.000 --> 01:43.532 We still had to fight hard to obtain 01:43.532 --> 01:46.967 freedom of the press and journalistic autonomy, 01:46.967 --> 01:50.099 which ensured the independence of the media. 01:50.099 --> 01:50.967 which ensured the independence of the media. 01:55.699 --> 01:58.599 Taiwan's media environment has been steadily deteriorating. 01:58.599 --> 02:01.800 With the arrival of the social media era, 02:02.567 --> 02:03.199 traditional media 02:03.199 --> 02:04.066 has been undergoing a digital transformation, 02:04.066 --> 02:05.532 and everyone is only concerned about 02:05.532 --> 02:08.033 improving their click through rate 02:08.033 --> 02:09.132 and get more ads. 02:09.567 --> 02:10.800 Sensational headlines, 02:10.800 --> 02:12.033 sensational content, 02:12.399 --> 02:14.699 and extreme media fragmentation… 02:14.699 --> 02:15.934 But nobody cares 02:16.432 --> 02:17.466 if this is false news 02:17.466 --> 02:18.300 or irresponsible news. 02:19.899 --> 02:23.266 Under these circumstances, in-depth reporting 02:23.266 --> 02:25.000 and investigative reporting 02:25.000 --> 02:26.733 have become rare and precious things. 02:27.934 --> 02:29.934 I am very concerned about human rights, 02:30.233 --> 02:32.332 particularly the human rights of disadvantaged groups. 02:32.899 --> 02:35.065 So after the establishment of The Reporter, 02:35.065 --> 02:37.733 it did a lot of reporting on human rights. 02:37.733 --> 02:39.000 Of course this was connected 02:39.000 --> 02:41.033 with my training in sociology. 03:21.233 --> 03:22.699 Today we are going to take a look 03:22.699 --> 03:24.132 at the Dashe Industrial Area. 03:24.567 --> 03:27.667 The Dashe Industrial Area is currently one of Kaohsiung's 03:27.667 --> 03:30.332 most heavily polluted industrial areas. 03:30.332 --> 03:32.533 The residents of Dashe have long 03:32.533 --> 03:34.000 had to suffer 03:34.000 --> 03:36.199 the effects of air pollution. 03:39.533 --> 03:40.632 As far as you are concerned, 03:41.033 --> 03:43.600 do you still have the motivation to keep resisting? 03:44.300 --> 03:45.300 What we can do in the near term 03:45.300 --> 03:46.300 is really very limited. 03:46.300 --> 03:47.199 That's because we have exhausted 03:48.600 --> 03:50.199 all legal channels, 03:50.600 --> 03:51.199 and have no other recourse. 03:51.899 --> 03:52.466 This is what 03:52.667 --> 03:54.100 we have emphasized in the past: 03:54.100 --> 03:54.766 People living near petrochemical plants 03:55.867 --> 03:56.934 have long been considered 03:56.934 --> 03:57.966 second-class citizens. 04:03.166 --> 04:03.766 Back in the past, 04:03.766 --> 04:04.766 the Houjing anti-No. 5 naphtha cracker movement 04:04.766 --> 04:05.667 took place here, 04:06.432 --> 04:07.766 at this local religious center. 04:07.966 --> 04:08.800 At that time, 04:09.132 --> 04:10.266 Mr. Wang Hsin-chang 04:10.266 --> 04:11.833 shared his experience with us. 04:11.833 --> 04:12.934 The situation in Houjing 04:13.332 --> 04:14.199 was extremely volatile. 04:14.533 --> 04:16.834 Even lighting a mosquito coil could set off an explosion. 04:16.834 --> 04:18.132 The people really believed 04:18.500 --> 04:19.532 that the situation was intolerable, 04:19.766 --> 04:20.467 and rose him in opposition. 04:23.766 --> 04:24.899 Nowadays, now that 04:24.899 --> 04:26.200 the No. 5 naphtha cracker has shut down, 04:26.200 --> 04:28.333 are things now much better? 04:28.333 --> 04:29.000 Yes 04:29.000 --> 04:29.967 Yes, now the air 04:29.967 --> 04:31.000 is better. 04:31.000 --> 04:33.032 But there has not yet been any improvement 04:33.032 --> 04:34.032 in the groundwater. 04:34.399 --> 04:34.766 That's because 04:35.600 --> 04:36.265 the general environment 04:36.834 --> 04:38.367 around here 04:38.600 --> 04:40.066 has all been polluted. 04:40.066 --> 04:41.032 It seems that 04:41.032 --> 04:42.032 the groundwater 04:42.032 --> 04:43.600 has all been affected. 04:43.600 --> 04:44.433 That's right. 04:51.000 --> 04:52.399 Apart from being in the public interest, 04:52.399 --> 04:54.500 I believe that good reporting 04:54.500 --> 04:55.899 must be based on 04:55.899 --> 04:57.766 in-depth field investigations 04:58.100 --> 05:00.265 and a long-term structural perspective. 05:00.600 --> 05:02.132 It should not be one-sided 05:02.132 --> 05:03.500 and just look from one angle 05:03.500 --> 05:04.799 while saying this is the truth. 05:04.799 --> 05:07.399 It should instead provide 05:07.399 --> 05:08.632 the full context of the situation 05:08.632 --> 05:10.666 And if it can challenge 05:11.000 --> 05:13.367 the lies of entrenched interests, 05:13.367 --> 05:14.899 this kind of investigative reporting 05:14.899 --> 05:16.066 will be even better. 05:19.532 --> 05:20.200 I feel very 05:20.200 --> 05:21.766 delighted that he has awakened my 05:22.132 --> 05:22.899 journalistic soul. 05:22.899 --> 05:23.532 I often think 05:23.532 --> 05:25.834 that if I'm able to do more reports 05:25.834 --> 05:27.632 that are able to influence society, 05:27.632 --> 05:29.867 I can help drive progress 05:29.867 --> 05:31.600 throughout society as a whole, 05:31.600 --> 05:32.467 or 05:32.467 --> 05:34.333 help people suffering from oppressive conditions 05:34.333 --> 05:37.000 to lead better lives. 05:37.000 --> 05:38.899 These are the results I hope to see 05:38.899 --> 05:40.933 in my role as a journalist. 05:43.899 --> 05:46.766 Outsiders think that because we have a pen in hand, 05:46.766 --> 05:48.233 or a camera in hand, 05:48.233 --> 05:50.165 the media can easily change society. 05:50.165 --> 05:52.233 However, the reality is that 05:52.233 --> 05:54.799 of every ten stories reported by the media, 05:54.799 --> 05:56.066 seven or eight are things like 05:56.066 --> 05:56.734 "Dog barks at the train"—a lot of fuss about nothing. 05:57.433 --> 05:58.367 It sinks like a stone 05:58.367 --> 05:59.967 without making any ripples. 05:59.967 --> 06:02.566 This is the true state of journalism today. 06:02.566 --> 06:04.265 So should we stop forcefully reporting 06:04.265 --> 06:06.265 because of this situation? 06:06.265 --> 06:07.899 You only have to direct your effort toward 10 things, 06:07.899 --> 06:10.532 and one or two of them may change society. 06:10.532 --> 06:12.566 This is still a lofty calling.