Citation

Wang JCS. Int. J. Mass Emerg. Disasters 1992; 10(3): 465-476.

Copyright

(Copyright © 1992, International Sociological Association, International Research Committee on Disasters)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

Undoubtedly, culture is a vehicle that helps people adapt to their environment. From the standpoint of cultural ecology, the unique culture embodied by the Yami people in Lan-Yu is actually composed of a set of adaptive strategies developed specifically for the sake of present-day survival. Even though Lan-Yu is an island known as "the last paradise for cultural preservation," acculturation has driven the Yami to confront selective elimination, particularly following the promotion of tourism by the Taiwanese government. Outside cultural influences as well as technology have gradually changed Lan-Yu's social structure in terms of people, space, and activities. On the one hand, technological advancement has brought a variety of positive improvements to the island; yet, on the other hand, it has also introduced some negative influences. The Lan-Yu Radwaste Storage Site (LYRSS) has become a much debated issue due to the conflict between traditional culture and modern civilization. Since the LYRSS was established through an inflexible and top-down decision-making process without following any consideration of cultural values or rituals, it has brought about social entropy in Lan-Yis. In other words, because of LYRSS, the Yami public seems to have developed cultural resistance rather than public acceptance. The article is an attempt to explicate the social entropy within the cultural context by looking into the anti-LYRSS movement. In particular, four issues are addressed: public involvement as it relates to limiting factors and promoting factors associated with the Yami culture; the cultural gap between the "etic" and "emic" perspectives; the underlying determinants of the anti-LYRSS movement; and aspects of public involvement in Lan-Yu.