Opinion: I would rather raise my children in Taiwan than in the United States.

Editor’s note: Clarissa Way A Taiwanese-American journalist and author living in Taipei. She published her cookbook ‘Made in Taiwan: Recipes and stories from the island nation” was published in 2023. Her views expressed in this commentary are her own.

Taipei
CNN
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When my parents were growing up in the 1970s, they didn’t think of Taiwan as an idyllic place to start a family. The country was under martial law, and the drumbeat of threats from China only grew louder each year. My father still remembers the unrest that gripped the island in 1979 when the United States cut off diplomatic recognition of Taiwan in favor of the People’s Republic of China. “We didn’t know if the United States would protect us if there was a conflict,” my father said. myself.

Then, in their late twenties, they left everything they knew and moved to the suburbs of Los Angeles, where I was born. They weren’t the only ones. During the 1970s and 1980s, approximately 20% of Taiwanese university graduates went abroad to pursue advanced studies. Very few people returned.

My parents considered America a safe haven and wanted me to grow up with all its comforts. They grew up in cramped, moldy buildings, while I spent my childhood in a four-bedroom house with a backyard and a pool.

They walked to school on uneven sidewalks in a cloud of pollution, but my mother drove me to school every day in a comfortable SUV. My parents grew up under the shadow of martial law and were jailed or killed for speaking out. I grew up in a free country where freedom of speech is enshrined in the constitution as a human right.

Yet, decades later, I ended up doing the exact opposite of what my parents did. In 2020, in the midst of a global pandemic, I moved to Taiwan with my girlfriend’s husband. Last year, I gave birth to a baby boy in Taipei.

The threat from China is unabated. In fact, tensions have reached historic highs and Taiwan is often referred to as the “world’s most dangerous place” by international analysts. This perception is so pervasive that every time my husband and I leave Taiwan, we receive wide-eyed and concerned voices from friends and family. Is Taiwan safe? Do you think China will attack?

My view may be short-sighted (given the real possibility of conflict or military blockade) and comes from a position of privilege (I am a dual citizen of Taiwan and the United States), but at this point There’s no other place I’d rather be. .

Much has changed in the past three decades as Taiwan transitions from an authoritarian state to a vibrant democracy.

While there was a peaceful handover of power in Taiwan, power is no longer certain in the United States.

Guns are illegal in Taiwan. Guns are the leading cause of death for children in the United States.

Taiwan has universal health insurance. No matter which clinic or hospital you go to, you can receive immediate and affordable treatment. My entire medical record is instantly accessible via the chip on my health card. Health insurance in America is opaque and not guaranteed.

The contrast is especially stark now that I’m a new mother. Taiwan’s subways have designated seating areas for pregnant women and children, and all major stations have nursing rooms.

The city has free play centers for children with a wide variety of toys. All new parents in Taipei City are eligible for a monthly cash stipend, and certified daycare centers and in-home nanny services are subsidized by the city government. In the United States, only low-income households are eligible for financial assistance.

Of course, comparing the United States and Taiwan in this way without recognizing the nuanced sociopolitical context can be misleading. Although the American healthcare system is notoriously difficult to navigate, it is much more advanced and cutting-edge than Taiwan’s.

Taiwan is a great country for babies, but it can be stressful for school-age children. The education system emphasizes memorization and stifles creative freedom. Neither my husband nor I have any desire to remain in Taiwan forever, but the US, with its shocking lack of family-friendly policies, is at the bottom of our list of places we would consider moving to.

Many Taiwanese still hold the United States in high esteem, but even more so as a military ally and defender of Taiwan. During the 2020 US presidential election, many people in Taiwan supported Donald Trump, especially because of his aggressive anti-China rhetoric.

But during this year’s election cycle, opinions are much more muted. President Joe Biden has defied skeptics over the past four years by maintaining a tough stance on China, especially given the former president’s recent comments accusing Taiwan of stealing America’s semiconductor business. , pro-Trump sentiment had weakened significantly.

“I don’t think Taiwanese actually care who the next U.S. president is, as long as the U.S. continues to show symbolic and substantive support and cooperation to Taiwan,” said Wei, assistant professor at Franklin and Marshall College.・Ting Yen said. The American, who specializes in Asian countries, spoke to me via video call.

The biggest change is how Taiwanese people perceive the United States. Although it remains a popular immigration destination for those who can afford it, America has lost its luster as a sanctuary. My friends in America believe that I live in a very unstable and dangerous place. But Taiwanese also hold similar beliefs about the United States.

Recently, at a Chinese medicine store in Taipei, the owner asked if it was safe to walk on the streets of Los Angeles. He had the impression that all major American cities had become extremely unsafe, with crime and shootings rampant in recent years. “Aren’t there guns everywhere?” he asked seriously. “It’s very dirty.”

“It’s definitely more comfortable here,” I replied, not wanting to go into details.

He nodded deeply. “Taiwan is safer,” he said.

It’s not so much that the US has become more dangerous (that’s the perception, but the statistics show otherwise). In fact, I have become accustomed to letting my guard down. In Taipei, you can walk down a dark alley with your wallet wide open long after midnight without fear of being robbed. You can leave your phone, wallet, and laptop on the coffee shop table and go to the bathroom and be confident that all your belongings will be there when you come back. Some of my friends don’t even lock their front door. In America, people would be reluctant to do something like the above.

According to last year’s World Peace Index, Taiwan is the 33rd most peaceful nation or territory in the world. Conversely, the United States ranks 131st.

Last year, when my husband and I were in the San Francisco Bay Area for a wedding, a friend instructed us not to leave any valuables in the car. Coming from Taiwan, we didn’t pay much attention to that advice until one day when we were looking for a parking spot we noticed a broken car window on the street.

These days, my parents and many of their friends who live in America are planning to retire to Taiwan. Encouraged by the option of dual citizenship and the ability to leave the island in the worst case scenario, they are no longer influenced by the anxieties of their youth.

My father, now in his 60s, is convinced that the Chinese threat will not materialize. I don’t agree with his opinion, but I understand his point of view. Tensions between the two sides of the Strait have been tense for 70 years now, and despite increasing rhetoric and airspace violations, the conflict feels more abstract with each passing year.

The Chinese Communist Party considers Taiwan part of its territory, even though it has never ruled it. They have not ruled out using force to annex Taiwan.

The possibility of war looms like a dark cloud. If you think about it for too long, you’ll get nervous and sticky. But it’s easy to ignore because it’s plausible and not something that will become reality anytime soon. In fact, political violence and chaos in the United States seems much more likely, especially since it is not unprecedented. Taiwan seems like a smarter place to live, at least on a day-to-day basis.

I asked my father, a lifelong Republican, whether he believed the bigger threat this year was Chinese President Xi Jinping or former President Donald Trump.

He answered without hesitation. “Trump,” he said. “Because he’s more unpredictable.”