普左傑實習心得04：參加「反對海上賽鴿」聽證會和說明會

參加「反對海上賽鴿」聽證會和說明會

作者：普左傑 Isaac Platt Zolov

日期·：2024年10月1日
 
在9月24日禮拜三，我跟何宗動（HO, Tsung-hsun）秘書長和動督盟的會員們參加中選會的「您是否同意禁止海上賽鴿」全國性公民投票案聽證會。我過去兩三禮拜都在閱讀賽鴿資料，所以當天已經了解賽鴿的問題，也聽得懂賽鴿的中文名詞。
 
我們到中選會的時候，我們以為要坐在聽證會的現場，但只能坐在旁邊的會議室看直播。所以，動督盟理事長王唯治（WANG, Wei-Chi）在現場寫陳情書抗議，而且我們都有簽名。我覺得這是「公民參與」最好的例子！
 
雖然我們只看直播，我們還能了解台灣聽證會的過程和不同人物對賽鴿的看法。我特別幸運能認識大部分的發言者，看他們在現場發言真的很厲害。雖然有時候我聽不懂，我對自己能聽懂的程度感到驚訝！
 
參加聽證真是一個難得的機會！我甚至在美國從來沒有機會參加「聽證」這類的活動，所以有機會來參加中選會的聽證會不但讓我了解這次聽證的內容，也讓我進一步了解台灣政府與公民的關係。

 
在9月28日禮拜六，我們跟禮拜二的參加者在NGOs會館的「反對海上賽鴿公投說明會-台北場」又見面了。我覺得禮拜六的活動很有意思。由於在聽證時有的發言部分內容我聽不懂，這場說明會讓我更了解禮拜二討論的事情。我們也有機會聽到一些團體與關心民眾對賽鴿的看法，也讓我對賽鴿的了解更多元。當天還有人帶鴿子到現場支持！
 
當時，何秘書長也突然讓我上台發言！我那時候真的很緊張，是個練習用中文公開表達的機會公。來台灣之前，我真的很緊張在公共場合說中文，更不用說在一般的公開場合。我在公民會實習不但幫我練習中文，也幫我提高自信！

 

我當天也邀請美國室友孔素（Sofiya）來現場參加。我每天回家一定跟我的室友們分享實習時做了什麼事，我很高興有機會能夠帶她來現場看公民會和動督盟的活動！

Attending the Legislative Hearing on Pigeon Racing

On Wednesday, September 24, I attended the Central Election Commission's legislative hearing on the national referendum on “Do you agree to ban pigeon racing?” with Secretary-General Ho and members of the Taiwan Animal Protection Network. I had spent the past few weeks doing research on pigeon racing in Taiwan, so I already understood the problems of activity, as well as the Chinese vocabulary to describe it.

When we arrived at the hearing, we thought we would sit at the hearing, but we could only sit in the conference room next to it and watch the live broadcast. Therefore, Wang Wei-Chi, the president of the Animal Protection Network, wrote a petition on the spot to protest, and we all signed it. Civic engagement at its finest! 

Although we only watched the live broadcast, the experience also allowed me to learn about the process of legislative hearings in Taiwan and the opinions of different people on racing pigeons. I was extremely lucky to have already met most of the speakers testifying, and it was really cool to watch them speak live. Even though there were times when I didn’t fully understand what they were saying, I was surprised at how much I understood!

What a unique opportunity it is to attend a hearing! I have never even had the opportunity to attend a legislative hearing in the United States, so having the opportunity to attend the hearing of the Central Election Commission not only allowed me to understand the content of this hearing, but also allowed me to better understand the relationship between the Taiwanese government and its citizens.

On Saturday, September 28, we met again with Tuesday’s participants at the “Policy Briefing” from Tuesday’s hearing, held at the Taipei NGO House. Since I did not understand some of the speeches during the hearing, the event gave me a better understanding of the matters discussed on Tuesday. We also had the opportunity to hear the views of some other activists and concerned citizens on racing pigeons, which also gave me a more diverse understanding of the different perspectives people have on the issue. Someone even brought their pet pigeon to the scene that day to support!

At that time, Secretary-General Ho also suddenly asked me to come on stage to give a speech! I was really nervous at that time because I do not have much experience with public speaking in Mandarin, and I had not prepared anything. Before coming to Taiwan, I was really nervous about speaking Chinese in public, let alone public speaking in general. My internship at TCPA has not only helped me practice Chinese, but also helped me improve my confidence!

I also invited my American roommate Sofiya to attend the event that day. Having already told her so much about my time at TCPA so far, I was very happy to have the opportunity to bring her to see TCPA’s activities in real time!