Dr Wenling Tu is associate professor at the Department of Public Policy and Management, Shih-Hsin University, Taiwan. In 2008, she joined the committee of Taiwan Science, Technology, and Society Association. Her co-edited book 'Challenging the Chip: Labor Rights and Environmental Justice in the Global Electronics Industry' (2006, Temple University Press) reveals the dark side of high-tech electronics development, analyses the globalisation of electronics and its failure to keep pace with social and environmental advances, and advocates sufficient policy tools and social mobilisation to keep the industry environmentally and socially responsible. Her publishing efforts addressing the environmental impacts of the high-tech industry and their social implications and involvement in environmental activism and research saw her as the 2007 Top Ten Rising Stars in Taiwan/Environmental Protection Award Winner and the 2004 Bob and Sydney Brown International Humanitarian Award. She is an active organiser for citizen deliberative forums on various kinds of policy issues in Taiwan and the co-founder and a board member of the Taiwan Environmental Action Network. She has also served as member of the environmental committee of the Ministry of Education, commisioner of the Central Taiwan Science Park monitoring committee, and commi sioner fof the 4th nuclear power plant monitoring committee, Taiwan EPA.
Keynote presentation abstract
Technology Risks and Citizen Participation: Taiwan’s Struggle Towards Environmental Democracy
In this presentation, I will discuss the rapid technology development and environmental challenges in Taiwan, which has experienced highly industrialised development and dramatic democratic transitions over the past 20 years. Although democratisation has forged opportunities of procedural changes in favour of public participation, challenges remain to foster substantial participation in the technological and environmental decision making processes. Using the example of environmental controversies of science park development, I address the challenges of citizen participation in environmental and scientific disputes. Further, I will discuss Taiwan’s recent experiments on citizen deliberative forums and their implications for enhancing science and technology communications.