Taiwan Policy Research Articles

Reassessing Seoul’s “One China” Policy: South Korea-Taiwan “Unofficial” Relations after 30 Years (1992-2022)

ABSTRACT Amid U.S.-led efforts to “internationalize and multilateralize” support for Taiwan in response to mounting pressure from China, the 2021 U.S.-South Korea presidential statement’s unprecedented reference to “peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait” made global headlines. This study analyzes contemporary Korea-Taiwan relations in historic and comparative perspective, focusing especially on Seoul’s official 1992 position on “One China” and its implications for Korea’s Taiwan policy. It demonstrates that Seoul has never recognized Beijing’s self-defined “One China principle” concerning its essential claim of PRC sovereignty over Taiwan. Comparative analysis of Korea’s position and subsequent policies with the U.S.’, Japan’s, and others’ further reveals significant (potential) flexibility in Korea’s approach to Taiwan. The relatively distant state of Korea-Taiwan relations today is the collective political choice of Korea’s democratically-elected leaders—not the legacy of some (non-existent) putative commitment made to Beijing 30 years ago.

Overview of Biomass-to-Energy Supply and Promotion Policy in Taiwan

During the past two decades, Taiwan’s average dependence on imported energy was 97.6%, thus pushing the government to promote the indigenous energy supply. In this regard, the energy policy and regulatory incentives for promoting biomass-to-energy or bioenergy have been recently established. In this work, the updated statistics of biomass-derived waste and energy supply from biomass during the period of 2005–2021 were analyzed using national/official reports. It was found that the annual agricultural waste amounts in Taiwan ranged from 4.5 to 5.2 million metric tons, and about 80% of those were generated from rice-derived residues (rice straw and rice husk) and livestock/poultry-derived waste (manure). In addition, a decreasing trend was observed in the indigenous bioenergy supply, mostly from the solid-type biomass resources, including waste wood, rice husk, and sugarcane bagasse. In order to expand bioenergy diversification, the central competent authorities, including the Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA), Council of Agriculture (COA), and Environmental Protection Administration (EPA), have announced the relevant policies for bioenergy promotion under the authorization of acts. Among them, the Renewable Energy Development Act is the legal foundation for promoting bioenergy and its industry development through economic incentives like feed-in-tariff (FIT), installation supports (or subsidies), and electrical grid connection.

Teachers' Perceptions of the Implementation of the Bullying Prevention Policies in Taiwan

台灣於2012年實施《校園霸凌防治準則》，成為東亞地區第一個有法源依據防治校園霸凌之國家。身為校園霸凌防治之第一線人員之一，教職員對法條之理解及對校方落實政策之觀察，對校園霸凌防治有著舉足輕重之影響。有鑑於此，本研究探討台灣國高中教職師對校園霸凌防治法條之認知、個人落實法條之經驗，及對校方依法推行霸凌防治工作及處置霸凌事件的觀察，試圖理解教職員觀點下校園霸凌防治準則實施現況及困境。本研究採取混合研究法，結合問卷調查法及配深度訪談，共計訪談15名來自三所國高中之教師，回收116份六所國高中教師填寫之有效問卷。研究結果指出，學校普遍未提供教師充分資源，如反霸凌教育訓練補充教材，加上父權社會根深蒂固之異性戀中心主義，造成學校校園氣氛持續忽略性別歧視、獨重升學率與學生學科表現，而變相忽視實施霸凌防治準則。本研究除強調輔導教師扮演推動霸凌防治準則的重要角色，亦指出校長重視霸凌防治之態度，實為霸凌事件確實依法通報處理之關鍵。作者同時針對未來研究方向以及教育現場工作提出建議。Taiwan enforced the Regulations on the Prevention of Bullying on Campus policy in 2012 and was the first East Asian country to enforce a national policy that addresses bullying in schools. Employing a mixed-method design, this study investigated teacher's and administrative staff's perceptions and experiences of anti-bullying policy implementation. A total of 116 teachers and administrative staff participated in the survey and 15 teachers and administrative staff participated in interviews. The results indicated that a lack of anti-bullying education for teachers coupled with endemic heterosexism perpetuated school climates that prioritized improving students' academic performance over implementing anti-bullying policies. The important role of teachers in policy implementation as well as school principal's commitment to addressing school bullying were highlighted as key in reducing bullying behaviors. Finally, the report discusses recommendations and direction for future research.

Issues of Supply Circumstance of Urban Geriatric Psychiatric Daycare Centers in Long Term Care 2.0-Case Studies New Taipei City

社區照顧成為台灣長照政策的主流，社區日照中心扮演重要角色，但對應現行都市計劃架構下，無論在土地使用計畫，抑或公共設施計畫，均無法快速因應長照大量需求下之空間供給；本研究以新北市為例，以文獻回顧，探討地方政府對於日照中心設置規定與類型、與用地相關規定、都市計劃相關法令對社區型長照設施設置與使用之相關規定，並透過對衛生局、日照中心、公有日照中心新建單位（新北市新工處、台北市住宅處）與用地變更專業技師進行深度訪談，了解現今日照中心規範下，都市社區日照中心現況，以及提供長照服務內容，以了解社區日照中心現今營運提供社區長照服務供給的現況。研究結果顯示，都市日照中心用地供給缺乏，地區主管機關無法有效掌握社區失能人口，都市計畫欠缺對日照中心的整體用地規劃，現行日照中心設置多以跨區收容、失智失能者混合日托為主，日照中心設置於各類使用分區下且多以舊有建築改造，在使用上多與周邊使用產生衝突、空間設計受舊有建築限制產生使用不便的問題，此外，日照中心因人力與經營管理限制，導致小規機者數量極少，對於一般未能申請到日托的長照家庭，亦無法提供相關服務。The community care has become the mainstream of the long-term care policy in Taiwan, playing an important role in the Urban Geriatric Psychiatric Daycare Centers. However, comparing to the space supply under the structure of city planning, no matter the plans of land use or public facility plans, they both cannot rapidly deal with the massive need of space of long-term caring. So, this plan takes New Taipei City as example, according to the literatures reviews, finding the answers to the settings and types that the local governments set for the community geriatric psychiatric daycare centers, the rules for land using, the laws for equipment and the use for community geriatric psychiatric daycare centers. Using the personal depth interviews to the competent authority of long-term care, private geriatric psychiatric daycare centers, the new construction office of public geriatric psychiatric daycare centers, and the professors of land use changing, understanding the situations of urban geriatric psychiatric daycare centers under the current laws, and understand the working situations of community geriatric psychiatric daycare centers. As the result comes out, the urban geriatric psychiatric daycare centers are lack of space supplying, the local authorities cannot control the population of disability effectively, the urban plans didn't acquire enough information about the total land using and planning, the use of land of daycare centers are mostly inter-district, the population of disable and dementia are being mixed in main term, the geriatric psychiatric daycare centers are usually located in different locations and most are being reconstructed in old buildings, the use of activities is usually conflicted with other activities and the space design is restricted by the old design of buildings. In addition, due to the limit of human resource and working management, lead to the small-size multifunctional services are in very low numbers. As for the long-term caring families, they cannot being supplied for services, either.

Privacy Calculus Theory in the Digital Government Context: The Case of Taiwan’s New eID Policy

Based on the case of the national electronic identification card (New eID) policy in Taiwan, this study integrated the government’s components with a privacy calculus model to analyze factors which affect personal data disclosure intention. Partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) was used to analyze the survey data and explore how citizens balance benefits and risks associated with the New eID issue. The research results suggested that financial compensation, personalized services, and service compatibility can enhance cognition of privacy-related benefits of citizens, while this cognition will further increase willingness to authorize their personal data. Moreover, the impact of government elements on citizens’ willingness to authorize their personal information also has statistical backings. Citizens’ cognition of privacy-related risks, however, has no statistical effect within the model, which is contrary to findings from previous studies. The study attempted to make contributions to supplementing the connotation of an extant theoretical framework, and discussed the privacy-related questions concerning digital government.

Language Politics and Recognition under Tsai Ing-wen

Abstract This paper surveys developments in language politics and policy in Taiwan under Tsai Ing-wen’s presidency (2016–present). Drawing on historical-institutionalist premises, it shows that recent language policy developments were path-dependent and built upon initiatives proposed under Chen Shui-bian’s presidency (2000–2008). The paper argues that the comparative success of Tsai’s initiatives owed not only to her party forming a legislative majority, but also to a broad sociopolitical consensus on transitional and historical justice, and to an incrementalist strategy that consisted in legislating on minority languages before laying out a comprehensive multilingual legal framework. Although recent language developments do fall within the purview of identity politics, these factors have enabled the Tsai administration to justify and legitimise measures towards language recognition and revitalisation as intrinsic to Taiwan’s democratic consolidation, rather than as tools for identity building.

Çin Halk Cumhuriyeti’nin Tayvan Politikası ve Bu Politikanın Dünya Siyasetinde Önemi

Yüzyılın başından beri Çin’in yükselişi küresel tartışmalara yol açmıştır. Bugün, Çin’in uluslararası jeopolitik üzerindeki etkisi yadsınamaz bir gerçektir. Bu bağlamda ekonomik anlamdaki büyümesi ile siyasi zayıflığı arasındaki paradoks, Çin Halk Cumhuriyeti (ÇHC)’nin politikalarını önümüzdeki dönemde daha agresif hale getirebilir. Özellikle son 10 yılda sessiz bir şekilde ekonomik büyümesi ile dikkat çeken Çin, küresel rekabette daha hissedilir hale gelmektedir. Esasen, Çin’in ekonomik ve teknolojik anlamda yükselişi, askeri modernizasyonunu da hızlandırmasını sağladı. Bu gelişmeler 9,6 milyon kilometrekarelik yüzölçümü ile Kanada ve Rusya’dan sonra dünyanın üçüncü büyük ülkesi olan Çin’in, Asya’da tehdit olarak görülmeye başlamasına yol açmıştır. Nihayetinde 6 Ekim 2021 tarihinde Tayvan Savunma Bakanı Chiu Kuo cheng, Çin ile Tayvan ilişkilerinin son kırk yılın en gergin ve en kötü döneminde bulunduğunu ifade etti. Bakan Chiu Kuo cheng, ayrıca Çin’in 10 yıl içerisinde Tayvan’ı tamamen işgal etme kabiliyetine sahip olacağını söyledi. Çin Halk Cumhuriyeti, Tayvan Savunma Bakanının BBC’de yapmış olduğu bu açıklamalar karşısında adanın (Tayvan) anakarayla birleştirilmesi için güç kullanma ihtimalini yalanlamadı. Bu açıklamalar ışığında Çin anakarasının yükselişi karşısında bölgesinde ve dünyada etkisini kaybetmeye başlayan Tayvan’ın, önümüzdeki süreçte Çin açısından bölgesel bir “stratejik rekabet” meselesi olacağı düşünülmektedir. Bu durumdan en fazla zarar görebilecek diğer güç ise ABD olacaktır. Bu makalede, Çin’in Tayvan politikası ve bu politikanın yol açabileceği gelecek senaryoları ele alınmıştır.

Effectiveness of controlling COVID-19 epidemic by implementing soft lockdown policy and extensive community screening in Taiwan

Strict and repeated lockdowns have caused public fatigue regarding policy compliance and had a large impact on several countries’ economies. We aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of a soft lockdown policy and the strategy of active community screening for controlling COVID-19 in Taiwan. We used village-based daily confirmed COVID-19 statistics in Taipei City and New Taipei City, between May 2, 2021, and July 17, 2021. The temporal Gi* statistic was used to compute the spatiotemporal hotspots. Simple linear regression was used to evaluate the trend of the epidemic, positivity rate from community screening, and mobility changes in COVID-19 cases and incidence before and after a level three alert in both cities. We used a Bayesian hierarchical zero-inflated Poisson model to estimate the daily infection risk. The cities accounted for 11,403 (81.17%) of 14,048 locally confirmed cases. The mean effective reproduction number (Re) surged before the level three alert and peaked on May 16, 2021, the day after the level three alert in Taipei City (Re = 3.66) and New Taipei City (Re = 3.37). Mobility reduction and a lower positive rate were positively associated with a lower number of cases and incidence. In the spatiotemporal view, seven major districts were identified with a radial spreading pattern from one hard-hit district. Villages with a higher inflow degree centrality among people aged ≥ 60 years, having confirmed cases, specific land-use types, and with a higher aging index had higher infection risks than other villages. Early soft lockdown policy and detection of infected patients showed an effective strategy to control COVID-19 in Taiwan.

Grey Relational Analysis on the Crucial Factors of Digital Banking Development in Taiwan

Banks' digitalization is impartments a future trend and a national financial technology policy in Taiwan. This research aims to study which factors will affect digital accounts' promotion of digital banking. Specifically, we apply the grey relational analysis (GRA) methodology to analyze and identify the main factors of digital banking development. The empirical findings can briefly be summarized as follows: A bank wants to promote digital accounts, it must start with a credit card, because the use of digital finance must bind be bound to a credit card and let the people know that digital accounts have many advantages, such as no deposit limit and interest, free cross-bank withdrawals, etc. In general, the following crucial factors such as number of free transfers, deposit limit, the card in force, active cards and number of free withdrawal need to be considered since these factors can strongly assist digital banking development in Taiwan and banks effectively promote and attract people to apply for digital accounts.

Taiwan Addresses Climate Change

This article assesses climate change policies in Taiwan in the past decade and the findings indicate that the influence of international norms, especially those of the United Nations, has been significant to the decision-making process. To elucidate the importance of international norms, this article examines the policies and legislations for addressing climate change through the lens of policy learning, which is a relatively overlooked aspect in past and extant research.

Strategising Taiwan’s New Southbound Policy

The New Southbound Policy (NSP) is the signature foreign policy of Taiwan that enables collaborative partnerships to be built among public, private and the third sector in advancing its presence. This article unpacks the P-P-P-P practice of the NSP since 2016. It articulates that the cross-sectoral partnership and its synergy for delivering the NSP enables Taiwan to navigate in the changing dynamics of the Indo-Pacific region.

Empowering local bilingual teachers through extending the pedagogy of multiliteracies in Taiwan’s primary education

In 2018, Taiwan announced a bilingual education policy. Since then, bilingual teacher development has been a national priority, which has created anxiety and concerns among local Taiwanese teachers, who are expected to teach in the English medium. By extending the core values, design principles and inspired practices from New London Group’s (1996) pedagogy of multiliteracies (PoM), we present how a local Taiwanese teacher in a Grade 1 content and language integrated learning mathematics class successfully leveraged translingual and trans-semiotic resources in an English-as-a-foreign-language context, which in turn facilitated learners’ multilingual production. The findings show that trans-semiotizing helps bilingual teachers effectively deliver and support content learning, whereas translanguaging enables bilingual teachers to create a positive environment which encourages learners’ multilingual production. This study provides an opportunity for Taiwan’s educators to productively navigate problems arising from the bilingual education policy and nativespeakerism in Taiwan through creatively adapting the PoM. This study concludes with directions for bilingual teacher education.

Equal rights for gasoline and electricity? The dismantling of fossil fuel vehicle phase-out policy in Taiwan

Phasing out fossil fuel vehicles is an indispensable pillar to decarbonize the transportation sector. In 2017, Taiwan proposed to ban all new sales of gasoline-powered scooters by 2035 and passenger cars by 2040. In less than two years, the phase-out policy was suspended. We explore this policy failure through the lens of multi-level perspective (MLP) framework and examine the interactions between the radical niche innovations, the incumbent regime, and the socio-technical landscape. We first show that the scooter industry played a decisive role in the policymaking processes. As an emerging niche innovation, however, the e-scooter manufacturers faced difficulties with scaling up their new system and confronting customer complaints. We also illustrate that Taiwan's fossil fuel vehicle phase-out suffers from hasty policy formulation and lack of effective coordination. The incumbent regime took advantage of the fragmented governance structure, and even brought back gasoline scooter subsidies successfully. In the socio-technical landscape, the phase-out policy is embedded in the ruling party's progressive reform package. Taiwan's gasoline scooter supply chains, in the campaign of “Equal Rights for Gasoline and Electricity”, appropriated the rhetoric of social justice and framed the phase-out policy as unfair. Facing huge defeat in the local election in 2018, the ruling party considered the phase-out policy as immature and reversed course. This paper provides a rare case study of mobility transition when two-wheel vehicles are dominant, and offer implications to countries in similar contexts.

Anti-Pandemic Policies in Estonia and Taiwan: Digital Power, Sovereignty and Biopolitics

Taiwan and Estonia are known as digital democracies facing threats from neighbors exploiting the vulnerabilities stemming from their degree of digitalization. Nevertheless, in their responses to the COVID-19 pandemic, Taiwan and Estonia have highlighted the strengths of digital democracy in combating a non-traditional security threat without employing the strong-arm tactics of authoritarian states. The goal of the article is to distinguish between vulnerability in cyberspace and digital power and put forward a conception of digital power to explain how Estonia and Taiwan were using their digital prowess to combat COVID-19. We argue that on one hand, their reliance on cybertechnology makes them particularly vulnerable to cyberattacks, but on the other their digital power enhances their global stature and domestic capacity to address threats such as COVID-19. The article starts by engaging with the ongoing academic debate on the concept of digital power and its political core. In the next section we adapt this concept to the policy practices of digital governance in Estonia and Taiwan. Lastly, we look more specifically at how investments in the IT sphere and e-governance were helpful for the two countries during the initial stage of the COVID-19 crisis. In conclusion, we highlight the paradox of two democracies choosing to extend the reach of the state into society through the use of digital tools to combat COVID-19. We further note that the pandemic provides a new biopolitical understanding of vulnerability and power in the digital realm.

From Chinese tourists to Taiwanese campers: Impacts of tourism policies on campsite land use/cover change

The rapid increase in camping activities and campsites has had negative environmental impacts in mountainous areas. Tourism policies may be an important factor in changing recreational behavior and increasing campsites. The purpose of this study was to explore the effects of tourism policies on campsite-related landscape changes in Taiwan. The study area consisted of 276 campsites in the Jianshi and Wufeng Townships in Hsinchu County. The tourism policy periods were divided into 2001–2007 (Taiwan's agri-tourism policy), 2008–2015 (China and Taiwan's travel permit policy), and 2016–2019 (China's travel restriction policy), based on a reference review and relative theories. The 2000, 2008, 2016, and 2019 campsite landscapes were classified into forestland and non-forestland through object-based classification. This study established a general linear model to analyze the effect of tourism policy period on campsite forestland and non-forestland landscape change, according to the 50, 100, 250, 500, and 1000 m radii of 276 campsites. The results showed that tourism policies had a significant effect on campsite forestland and non-forestland landscape changes. The effect sizes ranged from medium to large. The Chinese tourist travel permit policy was significantly associated with increased non-forestland in campsites from 2008 to 2016. This policy likely affected recreational behavior indirectly, promoting camping and increasing non-forestland through the crowding-out effects of the many Chinese tourists, which was not the original purpose of the policy. Tourism policy decision-makers should consider the potential negative landscape change effects of changes in recreational behavior, and provide supporting measures to maintain recreational quality and avoid crowding-out effects. Campsite development should also be regulated to prevent forestland changes and achieve sustainable management.

Cultural equality and policy in Taiwan: the case studies on children/adolescents and the people with disabilities

ABSTRACT This paper discusses the development and challenges of ‘cultural equality’ and cultural policy in Taiwan. On 10 May 2019 Taiwan’s Legislative Yuan passed the ‘Cultural Fundamental Act’ provides comprehensive system design and policy tools for cultural equality. We use the two-preceding cultural-disadvantage cases roughly show that it is difficult to implement cultural equality in Taiwan on three levels: (1) Inability to tolerate differences due to social discrimination, which prevents children of special ethnic groups or people with disabilities to develop their subject identity. (2) Current obstacles and difficulties in cultural participation, such as lack of time, inconvenient transportation, lack of information sources, unfriendly space design, etc. (3) Support and construction of an inclusive culture: Empower children and people with disabilities to hone their artistic and cultural skills, encourage their creation, and inspire more works to be produced. Finally, this paper proposes some suggestions for cultural policy in Taiwan.

A simulation-based decision support tool for dynamic post-disaster pedestrian evacuation

Taiwan, located in the Pacific Ring of Fire, is highly vulnerable to the destructive impact of powerful earthquakes. When a massive earthquake occurs, failure to take proper measures can lead to massive casualties, collapse of public facilities, and disruption to traffic networks. Among the many post-disaster management strategies, efficient evacuation is absolutely critical as it can potentially reduce the number of casualties substantially. At present, most post-disaster evacuation decisions are made based on past experience, but the rarity of high-magnitude earthquakes impedes the rate at which the quality of the decision-making process can improve. As such, this study primarily aims to develop an efficient and credible evacuation simulation modeling framework which can be used as a powerful tool to bolster evacuation strategies. The simulation evacuation framework we propose is known as the Stochastic Pedestrian Cell Transmission Model (SPCTM). The model is built based on real data of the mapping of roads and emergency shelters in an urban environment, as well as predictive models of pedestrian flow, the number of people needed to be evacuated after an earthquake, and the impact of earthquakes on urban infrastructure. Much of the data is provided by the Taiwan Earthquake Impact Research and Information Application platform (TERIA) developed by the National Science and Technology Center for Disaster Reduction (NCDR). Applying this data, the model divides the traffic network into a cellular structure, applies the concepts of inflow and outflow to represent population movement and uses random variables to simulate the selection behavior of pedestrian agents. In addition to SPCTM, we propose an alternative model which makes slight modifications to SPCTM to offer users a complementary framework in which evacuees are armed with less ideal information about the evacuation situation. An empirical study is run in a district of Taipei, Taiwan based on a simulated earthquake of magnitude 6.5 in which the overall and moment-by-moment simulation evacuation process is presented. The use of SPCTM as a simulation evacuation model is compared to the current government evacuation policy in Taiwan. Further potential benefits of using the proposed simulation evacuation tool are numerous. For example, the frameworks proposed in this study can offer valuable insights to policy-makers on infrastructure design decisions and evacuation strategies before an earthquake occurs, including the best placement of relief centers, to potentially significantly reduce the number of casualties. Also, simulation results can be utilized after a disaster to assist in crucial decisions related to road restoration priorities, distribution of supplies to shelters, etc.

The developmental state and its discontent: the evolution of the open government data policy in Taiwan

Since the late 1980s, emerging political and economic forces challenged the effectiveness of so-called ‘developmental states’. While some argue that the development state is dead, others proclaim its persistence to this day. To explore the persistence and changes of developmental states, I use Taiwan’s open government data (OGD) policy as an analytical case. OGD was initially promulgated as primarily an economic policy, but it became a policy that also emphasised good governance. The evolution suggests that the developmental state in Taiwan has both persisted and been transformed. The persistence can be seen in the continuous influence of competent economic bureaucracies, ad hoc ties between state and capital, and the commitment to state-led economic development. On the other hand, the state has also changed, as non-economy-centred agencies have gained substantial power, the strength of civil society vis-à-vis the government has grown significantly, the bureaucracy has been increasingly incorporated into the ‘world polity’ and the logic of democracy has begun to be seen as supplementary to economic development. My theorisation rejects the wholesale endorsement or abandonment of the concept of ‘developmental state’ and treats the state as an entity that has ‘many hands’ and different types of ‘path dependence’.

Introduction: Education, Identity, and Development in Contemporary Taiwan

Abstract Mass formal education is a feature of modern societies all too often taken for granted or overlooked in mainstream sociological analysis. In this respect, the field of Taiwan studies is no exception. This introductory essay sets the three papers of this topical section in historical and comparative perspective, particularly in relation to East Asia. The papers show how education policy in contemporary Taiwan has evolved in a context of vibrant democracy, economic transition, demographic squeeze, and, looming over all, the threat from the Chinese mainland. Our focus falls especially on higher education and language instruction, and their involvement in debates over economic prosperity, security, identity, and Taiwan’s place in the world. A central theme of this introductory essay is the way in which educational debate in Taiwan is conditioned by awareness of insecurity—at individual, familial and societal levels. The intensely competitive, human capital-oriented approach to education that predominates there is bound up in complex ways with the insecurities of life on this island.

Experiences of Women Who Refuse Recall for Further Investigation of Abnormal Screening Mammography: A Qualitative Study.

Breast cancer has the highest incidence among all cancers for women in Taiwan. The current screening policy in Taiwan provides biennial mammogram tests for all women aged 45 to 69 years. A recommendation for further investigation is sent via post to women with a BI-RADS result of 0. The proportion of women who followed-up with a recall request for further investigation after an abnormal mammogram has been below 92.5% in recent years. Therefore, we aimed to explore the experiences of these women who refused recall for further investigation despite an abnormal mammogram. Purposive sampling was conducted on 13 women who refused recall for further examination of abnormal screening mammograms. Data collection included inductive, in-depth interviews or telephone interviews. A content analysis was applied. Three themes were identified: (1) negative screening experiences, (2) struggling with ’to go or not to go’, and (3) rationalizing without a follow-up examination. The first theme included three subthemes: (1) pain of examination, (2) the inconvenience of medical treatment; waiting, and (3) dissatisfaction with having to pay for further examination. The second major theme included three subthemes: (1) perceiving one’s susceptibility to breast cancer as very low, (2) questioning the accuracy of the results, and (3) procrastinating with a “head-in-the-sand” mentality. The third major theme included two subthemes: (1) fatalism and (2) paying attention to self-cultivation. In conclusion, the findings provide important information to healthcare providers involved in case management related to the actual living experiences of women with abnormal screening mammogram results and the additional education required to raise breast cancer awareness in the general public to achieve overall caring goals.