Environmental issues, space for (re) politicization Taiwanese youth1

Abstract

Taiwanese youth are often singled out by older people and stigmatized for a perceived lack of
resilience under pressure and the weakness of their political involvement. However, during the
2010s, this new generation has been at the heart of all main social movements, especially those
related to environmental issues. This paper intends to show how these issues constitute an important space for the politicization of young Taiwanese citizens. Three aspects will be studied: First,
the powerful comeback of environmental issues to the center of public affairs has created a sense
of crisis and urgency among Taiwanese youth. The growing impression is that the economic model
which brought prosperity to Taiwan is now on the verge of collapse and needs to be questioned. Second, this sense of crisis has produced social movements that in turn helped to break some of
Taiwanese youth’s psychological locks by producing a radically new approach to public protest in
what is still a highly conservative society. Third, environmental concerns are derivative ways to
materialize a common political space that reinforces identification with a common destiny linked
to the territory of Taiwan and its survival.