Hello, I am a student from Taiwan. I am writing this letter to raise awareness of the hidden oppression faced by students under modern developed democracies. Here are the issues I would like to bring up:

 

In many Asian countries, schools treat unconditional cleaning duties as a way for students to “share responsibilities,” often giving reasons such as environmental education or responsibility training. However, in my view, this has already gone far beyond the scope of education.

 

On August 28th, during the back-to-school cleaning day, we were required to clear piles of grass left on the lawn in the middle of the playground after mowing. There was no shelter from the sun, no water provided, and only cleaning tools were given to us. The grass was scattered across a large area of the lawn, and we were forced to work under the scorching sun for over an hour. Unless we felt physically unwell, we were not allowed to rest. Why do we obey so unquestioningly? I believe this is the result of obedience-training education that starts from childhood. Some students even feel guilty when they take breaks.

During the semester, we are required to clean our designated areas during the 15-minute break after the second class. The school has a grading system: if our class receives three “Excellent” grades, we get a “commendation” which is displayed in the classroom. There are no other rewards. On the other hand, if we receive a “Poor” grade, we are forced to participate in additional cleaning during winter or summer breaks, and we must cover our own transportation costs to school.

 

On August 29th, during another back-to-school cleaning day, I was assigned to clean the greenery belt on the first floor, along with six other students. The cleaning time was from 9:05 to 10:00, nearly an hour. Again, I was cleaning under the sun, without any reward or water provided, because it was considered our “duty.” The greenery area also attracted mosquitoes, and I was bitten several times. We were expected to clean thoroughly in such conditions, and teachers did not instruct us on how to use the cleaning tools — instead, it was taken for granted that we should “figure it out ourselves.”

 

What truly made me upset was the long duration of the cleaning, which caused pain in my hands due to constant friction from holding the broom. I believe that, under these circumstances, this already goes beyond the boundaries of education and should be treated seriously as a form of exploitation.

 

Another issue is the unreasonable school design. Our main teaching area consists of three buildings, each five stories tall, yet there are only two elevators. Students are not allowed to use them unless carrying meal containers, taking out garbage, or if injured. To prevent students from using them secretly, the elevators are locked outside of designated times, and access requires a key card. This means that even if the elevator is not in use, students are still not allowed to ride it. What’s worse, both elevators are located in the first-year building and the office building, so even if students use them, those in the other two teaching buildings still need to walk some distance to their classrooms. I feel this is very unfair to students.

 

Back to the main issue: I reported these concerns on Taiwan’s “Public Policy Online Participation Platform.” Unsurprisingly, the results were disappointing. Some of the comments I received were things like:

 

“Nowadays there are already too many spoiled kids, stop complaining!”

 

“How many times has this come up already?? How lazy can you be about cleaning?”

 

 

These kinds of dismissive responses are common.

 

The truth is, Taiwan has not made much effort to promote this platform, which results in extremely limited participation. Since students are busy with studies, most participants are adults. Therefore, the so-called promise that “students can also participate” is almost an empty one. In reality, apart from a few students, most people either show indifference or hold opposing views. The petition requires 5,000 votes, but to this day, it has gathered fewer than 20.

 

Yes, my words may sound very pessimistic. At present, I cannot provide actual recordings or videos either, because in Taiwan, recording someone without notifying them of the purpose and obtaining their consent could violate the law. Most of these cleaning assignments and rules are only given verbally.