Taipei, Nov. 25 (CNA) Taiwan should empower its people with more international knowledge so that they can be more "outward looking" instead of "inward looking, " a professor said Saturday in a seminar.
"There is more in this world than the Taiwan Strait and the relations among Taiwan, China and the U.S., " said Chang Hsi-mo, a professor at National Sun Yet-sen University, in a seminar focusing on the topic of international terrorism.
The seminar was a part of the launching ceremony for Chang's new book, titled "The Global War on Terrorism."
"Few people in Taiwan care about the global war on terrorism, " Chang lamented, adding that this is just another example of the fact that Taiwan people are indifferent to global affairs.
"The more we understand the world, the better we can see where we are at and where we are going," he added.
Chang further said that people in Taiwan should not only reach out to the world more, they should also pay attention to the way they see the world.
"Most of the times, we have too many opinions and not enough facts in Taiwan. People rush to make judgement instead of contemplating the subtler issues behind news events, " Chang said.
"For example, how do we define an 'extremist'? How do we define a 'terrorist'? Are all Muslims extremists and terrorists? Obviously not. But you seldom read insightful reports in newspapers in Taiwan on such topics," he said.
"Too many times, Taiwan people take a judgement as a reality, " Chang said.