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Environmental Protection
I was born in the countryside near Kaohsiung and I came up to Taipei when I was still a lad of twelve. Seven years have elapsed since then, and just recently, I returned to my home town for the very first time since I had left it. Would you like to know just how I felt when I set eyes again on the place that I had always remembered as being a real Shangrila? The image that I had so carefully cherished was dashed to the winds. Instead, I was struck by the sharp realization that civilization and modern industry were destroying our world.
The beautiful hills that were formerly covered with trees were now bald. All the trees must have been chopped down for lumber that went into the building of cheap apartment houses that were now ubiquitous all over the town. The crystal-clear river where I had enjoyed fishing and swimming when I was a lad was now a filthy ditch into which chemical factories were dumpling all their waste matter.
I could go on describing the horrible changes that my hometown had undergone, but time is limited. So I wish to say in conclusion that the time has come for the introduction of strict measures to protect our environment. |
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