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Abstraction Vol.52, No.4

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Abstraction Vol.52, No.4

Governance Research. Part II. The Multiplicity

Introduction
Yi-Tung Chang (Assistant Professor, Department of Social Development, National Pingtung University)

Special Issue Article
1. The Evolution of Taiwan’s Environmental Governance after World War II: An Ecological Modernization Approach
Hsin-Hsun Huang (Post-Doctor Research Fellow, Department of Land Economics, National Chengchi University)
Shih-Jung Hsu (Professor, Department of Land Economics, National Chengchi University)

2. The Endogenous Conflicts and Political Negotiation in Cultural Governance
Chih-Hung Wang (Professor, Graduate Institute of Building and Planning,
National Taiwan University)

3. Risk Governance of Techno-science Issues in Democratization of Science: Discussing Technocratic Risk Communication, Public Perception on Risk and Public Mobilization in the Case of Kuokuang Petrochemical Development Projects
Ming-Ying Lee (Associate Professor, Department of Mass Communication, Providence University)

4. Thoughts on “Arm’s-Length”: Governance and Accountability of Quasi-Governmental Organizations in Taiwan
Tien-Shen Li (Ph.D. Candidate, Department of Political Science, National Taiwan University)

5. The Preliminary Study of Constructing the Indicators of City Climate Risk Governance
Keng-Ming Hsu (Department of Public Administration and Management, National University of Tainan)

Research Note
6. Taiwan’s Response to the Global Governance of Gender Violence: To Explore the Aspects of Marital Violence Intervention
Joh-Jong Huang (Director, Department of Family Medicine, Kaohsiung Medical University Chung-Ho Memorial Hospital)
Ko-Li Chang (Associate Professor, College of Humanity and Administration, Fooyin University)
Vincent Shieh (Associate Professor, Graduate School of Gender Education, National Normal University)
  
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Special Issue Article

The Evolution of Taiwan’s Environmental Governance after World War II: An Ecological Modernization Approach
Hsin-Hsun Huang (Post-Doctor Research Fellow, Department of Land Economics, National Chengchi University)
Shih-Jung Hsu (Professor, Department of Land Economics, National Chengchi University)

Taiwan, in the pursuit of industrialization and modernization, achieved a remarkable record of economic growth after World War II while facing the predicament of environmental insustainability. With the deterioration of environmental problems as well as the rise in Taiwan’s politico-economic reforms since the 1970s, environmental issues were gradually brought into Taiwan’s public agenda. Taiwan’s environmental governance system has been subsequently constructed, and the idea of “sustainable development” becomes the main environmental discourse. How does the idea take shape in Taiwan? What are the process and the effects of environmental reforms? What would its prospects and limits be? This study attempts to grasp the shifts of Taiwan’s environmental governance after WWII, and explores whether or not it could lead Taiwan towards ecological sustainability. Authors employ the theory of “ecological modernization” to analyze Taiwan’s development course because of the similarity between the evolution of its environmental governance and what the theory contends, and point out that related changes are mostly confined to technology and institutions in form without reaching to the transformation of political-economic structure and social value.

Keywords: environmental governance, ecological modernization, sustainable development, industrial evolution



The Endogenous Conflicts and Political Negotiation in Cultural Governance
Chih-Hung Wang (Professor, Graduate Institute of Building and Planning,
National Taiwan University)

Cultural strategies are critical for urban and regional development, yet these strategies contain endogenous conflicts which are often overlooked. This author uses the idea of culture governance regime to conceptualize the structural dynamics of cultural development, and outlined these endogenous conflicts: (1) Although the diversity in the definition of culture is good for grafting to the political, economic and social fields of governance, it implies uncertainty and tension. (2) The grafting of culture and politics facilitates hegemony, yet it also induces conflict between order and transgression. (3) The grafting of culture and economy functions as cultural regulation, while it causes a dispute between universalism and particularism. (4) The grafting of culture and the social establishes a hierarchy of distinction, but also induced tension between solidarity and classification. (5) These conflicts imply a contradictory but coexisting structural tendency of civilization and enchantment. Finally, the author discusses the potential solution for these conflicts and finds that there is no simple way to settle them but multiple approaches with different political values.

Keywords: cultural governance, cultural policy, conflict, civilizing, enchanting



Risk Governance of Techno-science Issues in Democratization of Science: Discussing Technocratic Risk Communication, Public Perception on Risk and Public Mobilization in the Case of Kuokuang Petrochemical Development Projects
Ming-Ying Lee (Associate Professor, Department of Mass Communication, Providence University)

Technology development is like a knife with two-sided edges. On the one side, technology drives economic development; one the other side, technology brings about a lot of risks at the expense of ecology. In the process of decision-making on techno-science issues, risk communication can endure capability of risk governance of the states. In three waves of democratization of science, ‘public engagement in science’ is an emerging tendency. Public engagement will result in effects of public mobilization.
In Taiwan, one of controversial techno-science issues in recent years is whether Kuokuang petrochemical projects should develop. This study draws such a case to discuss the ways of different actors dealing with risk communication on techno-science issues. This study argued that technocrat deliberately attenuated risks related to local people. However, local people were forced to adopt themselves coexisting with risks. Moreover, this study argued that dissidents made a good use of media and took multilevel actions for public mobilization. Hence, public perception on risk was reconstructed. Ripple effect on social amplification of risk was shown.

Keywords: democratization of science, public mobilization, risk communication, risk governance, risk perception



Thoughts on “Arm’s-Length”: Governance and Accountability of Quasi-Governmental Organizations in Taiwan
Tien-Shen Li (Ph.D. Candidate, Department of Political Science, National Taiwan University)

GFNPOs and NDPBs are considered quasi-governmental organizations in Taiwan. This paper begins with a broad introduction to “arm’s-length”, and discusses its local contexts. The findings are as follows. First, the strengthening of congressional oversights over GFNPOs and NDPBs is reasonable, while it is also important to maintain the balance between external accountability and autonomy. Second, presumably, the oversights over NDPBs should be more intensive then GFNPOs, and therefore the congressional budget reviews, the property declarations of board members, and the salary ceiling need to be re-examined. Third, to reinforce the internal accountability of GFNPOs and NDPBs, competent authorities should emphasize the importance of the boards and the improvements of boards’ professional capacity. Fourth, this paper argues that the increases of informational transparency and internal auditing can enforce the self-discipline of these organizations. Finally, it is suggested that GFNPOs with higher publicness may be transformed to NDPBs.

Keywords: arm’s-length, quasi-governmental organizations, Government-Funded Nonprofit Organizations (GFNPOs), Non-Departmental Public Bodies (NDPBs), accountability



The Preliminary Study of Constructing the Indicators of City Climate Risk Governance
Keng-Ming Hsu (Department of Public Administration and Management, National University of Tainan)

Due to the climatic anomalies, the alternation between flooding and drought usually occur around the world. Because of climate change and other factors, resulting in increased opportunities for risk with countries. Taiwan is a high disaster risk area, climate and environmental change factors will highlight the seriousness of the risk and vulnerability issues. High-density development areas in cities are where is prone to disasters.
High degree of uncertainty of climate change, vulnerability factors in large scale disasters and the need of having corresponding ability to prevent and the disposal are all risk factors of climate governance. Therefore, this study is to understand the impact of climate change for the city, hoping to build a system of indicators to allow risk assessments for more specific reference.
For lacking of relevant urban climate governance literature in domestic academic, so the main purpose of this study is to learn elements and indicators of climate risk governance from existing relevant literature. Followed by using Delphi method, advisory specialist and the analytic hierarchy process and finally we summarize three dimensions, fourteen secondary elements and thirty-six indicators of urban climate risk governance evaluation system.
This indicator system can provide the subsequent research with foundation in “indicator system” aspect which is to consider ideal candidate, value of indicators, verification of indicators and statistics and publications of index data. Moreover, in “coping city climate risk” aspect, we need to focus on improvement of indicators, appropriate management, critical assessment of specific projects, and the degree and scope that indicators affected by environmental structural factors.

Keywords: city, climate risk, risk governance, indicator, delphi



Research Note

Taiwan’s Response to the Global Governance of Gender Violence: To Explore the Aspects of Marital Violence Intervention
Joh-Jong Huang (Director, Department of Family Medicine, Kaohsiung Medical University Chung-Ho Memorial Hospital)
Ko-Li Chang (Associate Professor, College of Humanity and Administration, Fooyin University)
Vincent Shieh (Associate Professor, Graduate School of Gender Education, National Normal University)

In the late 20th century, global governance swept worldwide in accompany with international organizations and enterprises. The influence of the global governance might be rather dominant as with the legitimization of nation-states’ responses to the international agreement. However, skew and incoherent values can be raised as local community responses to the global governance.
Global governance of gender violence is rooted in the concern of the violation of women’s right. However, gender violence is frequently intersected gender with class, ethnic, religion, culture, etc. Equality of right might compromise equity while only gender is under consideration, instead of the context and the history.
Marital violence intervention in Taiwan began from the advocacy of elites and lawmakers under the influence of the global governance. Due to lack of social consensus, the law and associated policies were obviously not bottom-up. Marital violence intervention was successfully legitimized in Taiwan, but with impaired legitimacy.


Keywords: global governance, gender mainstreaming, modernity, marital violence, patriarchy