This winter term project was exciting and stressful at the same time. The topic I chose is very controversial, and I found myself in a conflict between different myselfs. Part of me believes the law should protect children, but another part of me believes government should not interrupt religious activities. Reading news reports and governmental statements also deeply shook my mind because those documents include really realistic descriptions of spiritual abuse or physical, sexual, and psychological abuse and neglect. That also made me depressed, but I think this kind of issue accompanies this. I realized how hard it would be if I chose to study in this field, which is one thing I gained from the project.

Despite the depressive nature of the research, I found it interesting because it directly relates to human rights. Human rights are somewhat vague to me, but I am living because of that rights. Then, how far can individuals exceed the rights against other individuals’ rights or laws? This question also shaped the thesis of my undergraduate education so far: how to balance fundamental rights in society. I especially want to explore eastern societies, such as Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan, when I mention “the society.” Those countries encourage individual rights, which sounds very western, while consciously or unconsciously maintaining eastern or ancient Chinese ethics. I wish to study fundamental rights and how society works with broader perspectives, including religion, psychology, math, and more.