SLL49: The Harmony Index 和諧指數

Inspired by the events leading up to--and possinble consequences of--the Great Recall vote in Taiwan on July 26, 2025 to preserve the nation's democracy

The Harmony Index

Chi-Wei blinked as his Harmony Score ticked down—93.7 to 93.6. Second time this week.

He hadn’t spoken. Hadn’t posted. But his eyes had lingered for a full two full seconds on a headline about The F. Underground, the encrypted podcast series banned after the Great Recall Failure six years ago. The GRF …

Only six years. It seemed much longer. He remembered the last breaths of democracy.

A year and a half before the Great Recall, the K-Party won the majority in the legislature. They had been waiting for a long 8 years and didn’t waste any time. They started to change the system from the inside, quietly supported with money and influence from the AIC Republic.

They first cut defense budgets. Then, opened more access to foreign control. And passed new laws to “streamline government”, lower import restrictions, cut defense budgets.

The K-Party called it the path to wealth and peace. The AIC Republic called it integration.

Then came Deep Harmony, the AI from the AIC Republic. There was no force, only function and ease of use. It made everything simpler, faster, smoother.

It was everywhere. It helped you plan your day, fix problems, and earn Harmony Credits—even for being on time.

You got tax discounts for “emotional cooperation.” Job interviews disappeared. So did human recruiters. Deep Harmony found the “perfect job” for each person, using body data and behavior scores.

People who followed the system earned more, slept better, and had lower blood pressures. There was a 0.875 probability they would retire earlier, too.

Chi-Wei’s neighbor joined early. After installing Deep Harmony Home, he got two promotions in one month. His child skipped two grades and got a learning scholarship from the government.
Their family score? 98.6.

They took free family trips to the Harmonized Territories. First-class.

Chi-Wei waited. He liked privacy. He believed in choice. But his old apps stopped working. Without Deep Harmony, your files disappeared, bank accounts froze, health appointments were delayed.

So he gave in.

The Harmony Infrastructure Law made Deep Harmony a part of everything: buses, schools, courts, parenting.

At school, his daughter’s uniform had posture sensors. Her score was in the top 5%.
She was in the Accelerated Track. No more college applications and no more worry. Harmony had already chosen her future.

He wasn’t convinced it was the best option. But he wasn’t not convinced either.

She used to ask questions. He loved that. Her overflowing curiosity—even though he had fewer answers to share.

Now, she repeats Harmony slogans: “I am balanced. I am grateful. I am enough.” And she truly means it.

At home, their Listening Mirror glows in the living room. It replaced his wife’s reading light. She doesn’t talk much in the evening anymore. “Too tired,” she says. “Too balanced.”

But Chi-Wei knows.

His cousin Mei-Chen once shared a sweet song on social media. She forgot it was used during the Bluebird rally, before the Recall. Her score dropped below 80 and everyone in her family lost 0.3 Harmony Points.

There was a tense family meeting. There were apologies and tears. And threats. We haven’t had a family meeting in 4 years.

At 6:00 each morning, the Harmony Pledge plays on all devices. All people must join. If you are silent? Minus 0.2 points.

Below 85? No travel. No fast healthcare.
Below 80? You are marked as a Non-Com—non-compliant.
Below 75? You are erased.

But most people don’t drop. Not when following the rules brings so many rewards.

He recalled his train ride home. The camera floated above the seats. Deep Harmony 5.0 whispered: “You are safe. The system is strong. Harmony is truth.” A soft bell chimed. A boy stood a bit straighter. A woman smiled.

At home, Chi-Wei looked into the mirror. It blinked back. “Is everything okay, Chi-Wei?” He nodded. With just enough determination.

Back to 93.7.

Epilogue

Chi‑Wei lives in a territory world where people have lost their freedom in return for comfort, success, and stability. A score called the Harmony Score controls travel, jobs, school, even family registration. His country has been colonized by Deep Harmony, an AI system and social infra-structure. It is not violent. In fact, quite the opposite: Deep Harmony is helpful, friendly, and useful. It helps people earn more money, study efficiently, get better jobs, and even enjoy life. But only if they “harmonize”. Most people accept it, because they can gain so much. The cost is high for some but for many it is invisible: truth, private thought, and freedom.

This dystopian story is inspired by real events in Taiwan. By July 25, 2025, the country will have had a major “Great Recall” vote. The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and many civic groups say the opposition parties—the Kuomintang (KMT) and Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) who have majority in the legislature—are determined to pass laws that increase China’s influence and diminish Taiwan’s democracy. The KMT passed a law cutting T$80 billion from Taiwan’s defense budget, and another law that sends more national money to local governments, many of which are controlled by the KMT. They also support a law to let Chinese spouses and their families get Taiwanese citizenship faster, seen by some as a huge national security risk. Together, the KMT and TPP control 62 out of 113 seats in the legislature, while the DPP has only 51 seats. At present a total of 31 KMT lawmakers will face a recall vote; if at least 6 KMT lawmakers are recalled in the vote, the DPP could win back a majority and rebuild Taiwan’s crumbling democracy. A lot is at stake. Some call it Taiwan’s last peaceful way to protect its freedom and independence—before it’s too late.

和諧指數

志偉眨了眨眼，他的和諧分數從 93.7 降到了 93.6，這已是本週第二次了。

他沒有說話，也沒有發文，但他的目光卻在一個關於「F. 地下」的頭條新聞上停留了整整兩秒。那是一個加密的 Podcast 系列，在六年前的「大罷免失敗」後就遭到了禁播。那場「大罷免失敗」……

才過了六年，感覺卻漫長得多。他記得民主的最後一口氣。

在大罷免前一年半，K 黨在立法院贏得了多數席位。他們等了漫長的八年，所以沒有浪費任何時間。他們在 AIC 共和國的金錢和影響力暗中支持下，開始從內部改變體制。

他們首先削減了國防預算，接著開放更多外國控制，並通過新法來「精簡政府」、降低進口限制、削減國防預算。

K 黨稱之為通往財富與和平的道路，AIC 共和國則稱之為「整合」。

然後，來自 AIC 共和國的「深層和諧」人工智慧出現了。

它沒有強迫，只有功能和易用性。它讓一切變得更簡單、更快、更順暢。

它無處不在。它幫助你規劃一天、解決問題，甚至連準時都能賺取和諧積分。

「情緒合作」可以獲得稅務折扣，工作面試消失了，人力招募也消失了。深層和諧利用身體數據和行為分數，為每個人找到了「完美的工作」。

遵循系統的人賺得更多、睡得更好、血壓更低，他們有 0.875 的機率可以提早退休。

志偉的鄰居很早就加入了。安裝了「深層和諧居家版」後，他在一個月內獲得了兩次晉升，他的孩子跳了兩級，還獲得了政府的學習獎學金。

他們家庭的分數是 98.6。

他們還免費搭乘頭等艙到「和諧特區」進行家庭旅行。

志偉選擇等待。他喜歡隱私，他相信選擇。但他的舊應用程式都停止運作了。沒有深層和諧，你的文件會消失、銀行帳戶會凍結、健康預約會被延遲。

所以他妥協了。

「和諧基礎設施法」讓深層和諧成為一切的一部分：公車、學校、法院、育兒。

在學校，他女兒的制服有姿勢感測器，她的分數排在前 5%。

她進入了「加速軌道」，不再需要申請大學，也不再需要擔憂。和諧已經為她選擇了未來。

他不相信這是最好的選擇，但他也不是不相信。

她以前總是問問題，他喜歡那樣，喜歡她那滿溢的好奇心——儘管他能分享的答案越來越少。

現在，她重複著和諧的口號：「我平衡。我感恩。我足夠。」而且她是真心這麼說的。

在家裡，他們的「聆聽之鏡」在客廳裡發光。它取代了他妻子的閱讀燈。她晚上不再多說話了。「太累了，」她說，「太平衡了。」

但志偉知道。

他的表妹美真曾經在社群媒體上分享了一首甜美的歌曲。她忘了那首歌在罷免前的「青鳥集會」中被使用過。她的分數降到 80 以下，她家裡的每個人都掉了 0.3 和諧積分。

那是一次緊張的家庭會議。有道歉、有眼淚，還有威脅。我們已經四年沒有開家庭會議了。

每天早上六點，「和諧誓言」會在所有設備上播放。所有人都必須加入。如果你保持沉默？扣 0.2 分。

低於 85 分？不能旅行。不能快速就醫。

低於 80 分？你將被標記為「非順從者」。

低於 75 分？你將被抹除。

但大多數人不會掉分。當遵守規則能帶來這麼多獎勵時，誰會掉分呢？

他想起他搭火車回家的路上，攝影機漂浮在座位上方。「深層和諧 5.0」輕聲說道：「你很安全。系統很強大。和諧是真理。」柔和的鈴聲響起，一個男孩站得更挺拔了些，一個女人笑了。

在家裡，志偉照了照鏡子。鏡子也眨了眨眼。「志偉，一切都好嗎？」他點了點頭，帶著足夠的決心。

又回到了 93.7 分。

後記

志偉生活在一個人們為了舒適、成功和穩定而失去自由的領地世界。一個名為「和諧指數」的分數控制著旅行、工作、學校，甚至家庭登記。他的國家被「深層和諧」這個人工智慧系統和社會基礎設施殖民了。它不是暴力的，事實上，恰恰相反：「深層和諧」是樂於助人、友善且實用的。它幫助人們賺更多的錢、高效學習、獲得更好的工作，甚至享受生活。但前提是他們必須「和諧」。大多數人接受它，因為他們可以獲得很多。對某些人來說，代價很高，但對許多人來說，這個代價是無形的：真相、私人思想和自由。

這個反烏托邦的故事靈感來自台灣的真實事件。截至 2025 年 7 月 25 日，台灣將舉行一場重大的「大罷免」投票。民主進步黨（民進黨）和許多公民團體表示，在立法院佔多數席位的反對黨——中國國民黨（國民黨）和台灣民眾黨（民眾黨）——正M圖通過增加中國影響力並削弱台灣民主的法案。國民黨已經通過了一項削減台灣國防預算新台幣 800 億元的法案，以及另一項將更多國家資金撥給地方政府的法案，其中許多地方政府都由國民黨控制。他們還支持一項法案，允許中國配偶及其家人更快獲得台灣公民身份，這被一些人視為巨大的國家安全風險。國民黨和民眾黨總共控制著立法院 113 個席位中的 62 個，而民進黨只有 51 個席位。目前總共有 31 名國民黨立委將面臨罷免投票；如果至少有 6 名國民黨立委在投票中被罷免，民進黨就有可能重新獲得多數席位，並重建台灣搖搖欲墜的民主。這場投票關係重大。有些人稱之為台灣在為時已晚之前，保護其自由和獨立的最後一條和平途徑。

Vocabulary

1. Harmony Score, 和諧分數 (héxié fēnshù)

2. Great Recall Failure, 大罷免失敗 (dà bàmiǎn shībài)

3. Deep Harmony, 深層和諧 (shēncéng héxié)

4. emotional cooperation, 情緒合作 (qíngxù hézuò)

5. posture sensors, 姿勢感測器 (zīshì gǎncèqì)

6. Listening Mirror, 聆聽之鏡 (língtīng zhī jìng)

7. Non-Com (non-compliant person), 非順從者 (fēishùncóngzhě)

8. dystopian story, 反烏托邦的故事 (fǎn wūtuōbāng de gùshì)

9. legislature, 立法院 (lìfǎyuàn)

10. defense budget, 國防預算 (guófáng yùsuàn)

11. Chinese spouses, 中國配偶 (zhōngguó pèi'ǒu)

12. national security risk, 國家安全風險 (guójiā ānquán fēngxiǎn)

13. lawmakers, 立委 (lìwěi)

14. crumbling democracy, 搖搖欲墜的民主 (yáoyáo yùzhuì de mínzhǔ)

15. independence, 獨立 (dúlì)