My memories of research funding from a long time ago

I remember attending the ASPB (American Society of Plant Biologists) annual meeting a long time ago when I was a PhD student. A speaker used a bar chart to illustrate the distribution of US research funding across different fields. Research funding in biology was already significantly less than in other fields, and almost all of that funding went to medical and health related research. Funding for plant science was so minimal that it didn't even appear on that chart. Yes, some say that even without plant science research, plants can grow simply by being planted; without this basic research, they might just not grow well. Why would decision-makers care about this research? When resources are scarce, everyone has to work even harder to compete for limited funding. Back then, biomass energy was highly valued, so we could still apply for funding from the DOE. However, with more applicants than available funding, lab research funding was still insufficient. Graduate students had to register and prioritize the number of kits they could use to avoid interrupting experiments… Graduate students and their advisors would joke that if they could find a military application for the poplar plant they were researching, then they could apply for research funding from the DOD.

Here, I would like to pay tribute to those who continue to work on basic research even when funding is insufficient. I still love plant research, even though I can't continue it due to reality and practical limitations.

我記得在很久以前我還在唸博士時，去參加 ASPB (American Society of Plant Biologists)年度大會，有一位講者用柱狀圖展示美國科研經費在不同領域的分佈。

生物領域的研究經費已經比其他領域少很多了，而生物領域裡面的經費幾乎都是在醫學及健康相關研究上面，植物科學的經費是少到在那張圖上連一個pixel都沒有。是啊，有人說，即使不做植物科學研究，植物種下去就可以生長，沒有這些基礎研究可能只是長得不好，做決策的人怎麼會在乎這些研究，當資源不足時，大家只好更加努力在有限的經費中彼此爭奪。

那時候還是重視生質能的時代，所以還能向DOE申請經費，但是僧多粥少的情況下，實驗室的研究經費仍然不足，研究生必須登記及排序可以使用的kits數量以免造成實驗中斷而...。研究生和指導教授們會彼此開玩笑說，如果能幫我們研究的植物poplar找到軍事用途就好了，那就可以向DOD申請研究經費了。

在此，要對那些即使在經費不足的情況下仍然努力於基礎研究的人致敬。我還是喜歡植物研究，即使限於現實環境而無法繼續。

Read more!

Public transportation in Taiwan

I am both a pedestrian and a driver. I commute to work daily by train and on foot, and the trains are often packed. When I travel to Taipei, New Taipei, Hsinchu, and Kaohsiung for business, I also use public transportation. For me, places within a 20-minute walking distance after getting off the train are suitable for public transportation, but I know many Taiwanese people find even a 10-minute walk too far. I choose to spend NT$399 per month for unlimited train and bus travel within my commute area, as this is my commuting zone. If I need to commute across counties, I can choose an inter-county monthly pass; if I need to commute by high-speed rail, I can choose a high-speed rail monthly pass. These are the various preferential schemes currently offered by public transportation in Taiwan, and I have witnessed the improvements Taiwan has made year by year. In the metropolitan areas of the six major cities, whether or not to use public transportation is largely a matter of personal choice, and the enjoyment of using public transportation is even more related to the quality of passengers. How to transfer from one station to another one and from one transportation to another one are not difficult. Train and high-speed rail schedules are clearly listed, and there are App to track bus schedule real-time in major metropolitan areas. If you really want to use a bus, it's easy to find the information. We don't pay the high taxes of welfare states like those in Europe and Australia, so we shouldn't expect government officials to do everything for us. Many things can be easily done by ourselves with a little thought and effort; we should do them ourselves.

Things that require law enforcement are the government's priority. Things that individuals can do themselves shouldn't be constantly asked to be done by the government. Allowing motorcycles, bicycles, and shops to occupy arcades and sidewalks, condoning motorcycles, bicycles turning sidewalks into two-way slow lanes, forcing pedestrians to use both slow and fast lanes, and making it impossible for pedestrians to safely walk from one intersection to the next. I think these are the duties where government law enforcement should be focused on, but is failing to enforce the law. Laws alone are not enough to govern. 我每天 搭火車+走路 上下班，火車上常常塞滿人。去臺北、新北、新竹、高雄出差，也都是搭大眾運輸。對我而言，下車後走路20分鐘左右可達的地方都是適合搭大眾運輸的，但是我知道很多臺灣人連走路10分鐘都嫌遠。

我選擇每月花$399在我通勤的縣市無限搭火車及公車，因為這是我的通勤範圍。如果我要跨縣市通勤，我可以選擇跨縣市的月票，如果我要搭高鐵通勤，我可以選擇高鐵的月票。這些都是臺灣大眾運輸現在提供的各式優惠方案，臺灣這些年來逐年的改進我都看在眼裡。

在6都的都會區，要不要搭大眾運輸，和個人意願有很大關係，搭大眾運輸是否愉快，更是和乘客的素質有關。轉乘查詢沒有那麼困難，火車及高鐵都很清楚，大都會區也都有公車車班查詢app，只要有心想要搭，就很容易查到。我們沒有付像歐美澳等福利國家那麼高的各種稅，就不要每件事情都要求公務人員幫忙做好，很多事情自己動動腦動動手就很容易做到，這些自己做就好。

需要公權力執法才能做到的事情，是政府該優先去做的事情，個人自己就可以做到的事情，不要一天到晚要求政府幫我們做。放任機車、自行車及店家佔用騎樓及人行道，縱容機慢車輛將人行道變成雙向慢車道，逼迫行人無奈地走慢車道及快車道，造成行人無法安全的從一個路口走到下一個路口，有法卻不執法，這才是公權力該做卻無作為的地方，徒法不足以自行。

Read more!

Referendum on the restart of Taiwan's Third Nuclear power plant

Today (August 23, 2025) is the polling day for Taiwan's referendum on the restart of the Third Nuclear Power Plant. The referendum statement is: "Do you agree to the continued operation of the Third Nuclear Power Plant after the competent authority has confirmed there are no safety concerns?"

I walked to the polling station a little after 11 a.m. on a sweltering hot day to vote. Even though the station was close by, I was still drenched in sweat from the heat. I walked home and retreated back into my air-conditioned room to rest. Since Unit 2 of the Third Nuclear Power Plant was decommissioned on May 17, 2025, Taiwan has been through more than three months of summer without nuclear power, and I can enjoy the air conditioning comfortably at home with no power rationing issues.

This is a referendum that wastes life and money ($1.1 billion). What does "no safety concerns" even mean? It's not defined, so how can anyone confirm it? The plant is located on a fault line, but its earthquake resistance is insufficient. Situated on a tropical coast at the southernmost tip of Taiwan, it could face the possibility of high water temperatures, leaving it without cooling water. The power generated there has to be transmitted all the way to Taipei in the far north, crossing mountains and valleys. Is the power grid resilient enough? What happens if a single link in the chain is compromised? Most importantly, there's nowhere to store all the low, intermediate, and high-level nuclear waste. With so many problems, which competent authority would dare to guarantee "no safety concerns"?

This is a bogus issue, yet a bunch of people who support restarting the plant and didn't graduate from a science or engineering major are criticizing experts and professors for being uneducated. Geologists, drilling experts, electrical engineering professors and experts, and energy conversion and storage experts are all deemed by these people as uneducated, lacking in professional knowledge, and having no scientific literacy. I have a lot of relatives who are just like that.

今天(8/23/2025)是臺灣的核三重啟公投的投票日，公投主文為「您是否同意第三核能發電廠經主管機關同意確認無安全疑慮後，繼續運轉」。

我在大熱天的上午11點多走去投票所完成投票，雖然到投開票所很近，還是因為很熱而流了一身汗。走回家繼續鑽回開著冷氣的房間裡休息，核三廠2號機組自5/17/2025停役後，臺灣已經過了超過3個月沒有核電的夏天，我可以舒服的在家吹冷氣也沒有限電的問題。

這是一個浪費生命、浪費錢(11億)的公投案，什麼叫做 "無安全疑慮"，沒有定義，沒有定義要怎麼確認呢？從斷層帶上方經過但抗震能力設計不足；位在臺灣最南端的熱帶海邊，要面臨水溫過高沒有冷卻水可用的可能；要將臺灣最南端的發電一路翻山越嶺傳送到最北端的臺北，電網韌性是否充足，中間任何一個環節被破壞要怎麼辦；最重要的是所有的低中高核廢料都無處可去。有這麼多的問題存在，哪個主管機關敢保證說 "無安全疑慮"？

這個假議題，卻有一堆贊成重啟核三廠、非理工科系畢業的人在批評其他專家或教授沒有讀書，地質專家及教授、鑽井專家、電機系教授及機電專家、能量轉換儲存專家，全被這些人認定為沒有讀書、專業知識不足、沒有科學素養。我的親戚也有一堆這樣的人。

Read more!

To see a world in a grain of sand, And a heaven in a wild flower

Never forget your original intention.

I still remember one morning before the end of the Spring semester in my freshman year, walking on the lawn in my dorm, thinking about my final report. I gazed at the shimmering dewdrops in the morning light and the most common little yellow flowers. For some reason, I decided to squat down and take a closer look at those inconspicuous blossoms. Suddenly, I was struck and felt "To see a world in a grain of sand, And a heaven in a wild flower"(William Blake).

勿忘初衷。

還記得大一Spring semester結束前的清晨，走在宿舍的草地上思考著期末報告，看著在晨曦中晶瑩的露珠，以及最常見的小黃花，不知道為什麼就決定蹲下來近看那點不起眼的小花，卻突然間有了 "沙中見世界，花中見天堂" 的觸動，瞭解了英國詩人威廉·布萊克這句話。

Read more!

The slogans of Taiwanese people

These were the slogans we shouted when I was studying in the United States in the 1990s, wanting to let the world know the voices of Taiwanese people. We shouted them loudly across North America and around the world.  

One Taiwan, One China.

Taiwan for Taiwanese, China for Chinese.

We are Taiwanese, not Chinese.

Read more!

Taiwan, My small mountainous country

May God bless Taiwan.

The lyrics of "My small mountainous country" (我那小小多山的國家)

Time after time, I've woken from dreams (多少次夢驚醒)

Drenched in sweat, soaked in memories (汗水濕透了記憶)

I stand on a corner of a foreign street (我站在異鄉的街角)

Gazing toward that sky I know so deeply (望向那片熟悉的天際)

Listen - the drums begin to rise (聽啊 那鼓聲正響起)

The mountain town is calling me home (是山城呼喚著我回去)

If I must die a thousand times (如果我必須死一千次)

I'd rather die there (我只願死在那裡)

Where my blood may stain the soil (讓血染那片土地)

And in silence rest with my ancestors (與祖先一同沉寂)

If I must live a thousand times (如果我必須生一千次)

I'd rather be born there (我只願生在那裡)

In that small mountainous country (在那小小多山的國家裡)

Where I'd open my eyes to embrace thee (張開眼 就擁抱你)

Strange tongues surround me (陌生的語言環繞我)

But my heartbeat never changes (可心跳不曾變過)

I write my name with song (我用歌聲寫下名字)

Upon the land, and deep in the hearts of you and me (寫在土地 也寫進你我心窩)

Listen - the ocean is weeping (聽啊 那海聲也在哭泣)

Asking if I still remember who I am (問我還記不記得自己)

If I must die a thousand times (如果我必須死一千次)

I'd rather die there (我只願死在那裡)

Let my spirit become the wind fly over your heart (讓靈魂化成風 飄在你心上飛行)

If I must live a thousand times (如果我必須生一千次)

I'd rather be born there (我只願生在那裡)

In that small mountainous country (在那小小多山的國家裡)

With love I live each one of my lives (每一次 都要愛你)

Even if the world forgets our name (就算世界都遺忘我們的名字)

I'll make them remember this land (我也要讓它記得這片土地)

If I must die a thousand times (如果我必須死一千次)

I'd rather die there (我只願死在那裡)

Even if my voice is the only one remains (哪怕只剩下一個聲音)

I'll cry out to the world till the end (也要吶喊到底)

If I must live a thousand times (如果我必須生一千次)

I'd rather be born there (我只願生在那裡)

In that small mountainous country (在那小小多山的國家裡)

I'll spend my life embracing thee (用一生 擁抱你)

In my small mountainous country (在那小小多山的國家裡)

With the Great Recall - I guard thee (我用罷免 守護你)

Read more!

Strange Polling Stations

It was reported that in the 2025 recall, the KMT-governed cities of Taichung and Taipei set up polling stations in unusual locations, including car washes, outdoor tents, funeral homes, private homes, and empty houses. This is really strange. Taipei and Taichung are municipalities directly under the Central Government of Taiwan, and Taipei is the capital of Taiwan. There is not even a normal building for polling stations in the district. How can the polling stations be set up in outdoor tents?

這次2025大罷免，國民黨執政的臺中市及臺北市，將投開票所設置在奇怪的洗車場、戶外帳篷、葬儀社、民宅、空屋、...。這實在是令人覺得很奇怪，臺北市及臺中市是臺灣的直轄市，臺北市更是首善之都，區里裡面連個正常的可供投開票所設置建築都沒有，投開票所得設立在戶外搭帳篷？ (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EQoPpZVF8Oo) (https://news.ltn.com.tw/news/politics/breakingnews/5121603)

   

   

從我成年後，我在臺灣參加投票幾十年了，每次的投開票所都是在正常的建築物裡面。一般而言，這些投開票所有學校、里民活動中心、社區活動中心、公家機關場所、宮廟/教堂等宗教場所。

無論是哪種類型的場所，投開票所的設立都必須遵循及考量一些核心原則：

交通便利性： 方便選民步行、搭乘大眾運輸工具或駕車前往。
空間大小： 必須有足夠的空間設置投票區、遮屏、票匭、選務人員工作區及選民排隊區。
安全性： 確保投票流程不受干擾，保障人員及選票安全。
中立性： 避免設立在帶有特定政治、商業或宗教色彩過於濃厚的場所，確保選務公正。
無障礙設施： 需考慮行動不便的選民，盡可能提供無障礙通道。
電力與照明： 確保投票和開票過程有穩定的電力供應和足夠的照明。

Read more!

Cry sadly

Cry sadly.

Taiwanese people finally chose the CCP.  Cry sadly.

Are people in southern Taiwan the only ones who dislike the CCP? Xinjiang, Tibet, 64, and Hong Kong, these invasions and massacres all happened in front of us, and Taiwanese people chose the same future as them.

痛哭。

臺灣人終究是選擇了中共，哀哭。

難道臺灣只有南部人不喜歡中共嗎？新疆、西藏、64、香港，這些侵略及屠殺都是在我們眼前發生的，臺灣人竟然選擇和他們一樣的未來。

2025立委罷免案開票結果一覽 7月26日24案全數不通過 (The results of the 2025 Legislative Yuan recall vote are as follows: All 24 votes failed on July 26, 2025) (https://www.cna.com.tw/news/aipl/202507265011.aspx)
Read more!

It is not a good time to be joyful after Typhoon Danas hits Taiwan badly

The southern part of Taiwan was hit hard by typhoon Danas, especially Tainan and Chiayi. After Typhoon Danas left Taiwan on 7/7/2025, several districts and places are still closed for work and classes. Tainan and Chiayi have not yet fully restored power, and Taipower is still working hard to repair them. There are still many damaged houses that need to be repaired, and there are still many branches on the roadside that have not been removed. Farmers and fishermen in Yunlin, Chiayi, and Tainan are suffering greatly; they need to clean up their farmlands and fish ponds.  The damage related to solar photovoltaic panels has not been dealt with. There are a lot of things to do.

Danas颱風在7/7/2025 離開臺灣後，南部災情慘重，尤其是臺南嘉義更是淒慘，到今天還有許多地方停班停課。現在臺南嘉義都還沒有完全恢復電力、台電還在努力搶修中、還有一堆吹壞的民宅、路邊還有不少樹枝都沒時間收、雲嘉南的農民漁民在大大受苦中、太陽能光電板相關的損害也還沒處理好，千頭萬緒，還有一堆待辦事項尚未完成。

It seems that the Palace Museum is determined to hold a light and water dance and drone show on 7/12/2025. I don't think this can comfort people. If our homes, crops, fruit trees, and fish ponds are destroyed, how can we still have the mood to watch this performance? I just think it's similar to tell starving poor people "Why not eat meat ball".

After the Palace Museum holds the event tomorrow, the people dislike DDP and Taiwan will definitely say that the DPP government is completely ignorant of the suffering of the people and is still singing and dancing and pretending that everything is fine. It's really disappointing.

看起來故宮是鐵了心要辦活動，我不覺得這個能撫慰身心，如果家園都被毁了，農作物也毁了，怎麼還有心情看這個，只覺得是 "何不食肉糜"、"商女不知亡國恨，隔江猶唱後庭花"。

明天故宮辦了活動後，酸民一定會說民進黨政府完全不知民間疾苦，還在那裏歌舞昇平，粉飾太平。真是令人太失望了。

https://www.cna.com.tw/news/acul/202507110102.aspx
https://south.npm.gov.tw/ActivityInfoDetailC003210.aspx?Cond=43cb5977-be50-482b-be96-98687ccbd19d&appname=ActivityInfo3211&State=1

Read more!

Typhoon Danas and Agricultural Insurance

Typhoon Danas, which went through the Taiwan Strait and hit Chiayi and Tainan badly, caused heavy damage to Chiayi and Tainan's agriculture. For agricultural damage caused by natural disasters, the government will assess the severity of agricultural damage based on the "Agricultural Disaster Relief Measures" and decide whether to initiate "natural disaster relief". However, the entire assessment process is time-consuming and laborious, requiring a lot of manpower and time to conduct investigations and assessments, which is often not efficient to meet urgent needs. Let's take a look at Taiwan's agricultural insurance:

這次穿過台灣海峽從嘉南上路的Danas丹娜絲颱風對嘉南農業造成重創。天災造成的農業損害，政府一項會依據《農業災害救助辦法》，評估特定區域的農損嚴重程度，決定是否啟動「天災救助」，但是整個評估過程耗時費力，需要大量的人力及時間來進行調查及評估，常常緩不濟急。讓我們看一下臺灣的農業保險：

Promote agricultural insurance (Agricultural Finance Agency of the Ministry of Agriculture)

推動農業保險(農業部農業金融署，2024) (https://www.afna.gov.tw/view.php?theme=web_structure&id=208)

Agricultural Industry Insurance (Agricultural Food Administration, Ministry of Agriculture)

農產業保險(農業部農糧署，6/27/2025) (https://www.afa.gov.tw/cht/index.php?code=list&ids=277)

Agricultural insurance protects farmers (Taiwan Agricultural Story Museum)

農業保險 守護農民(臺灣農業故事館，12/10/2021) (https://theme.moa.gov.tw/theme_data.php?theme=storyboard_showcase&id=6)

丹娜絲颱風的相關報導 (https://www.newsmarket.com.tw/blog/223868/)

凱米颱風看問題》別讓農民成為氣候難民，台灣農業保險內容、利弊一次看 (上下游，7/28/2024) (https://www.newsmarket.com.tw/blog/208953/)：內文有許多比較表單，值得看一下。

Read more!