In the tradition of a family-centered society, children in Tuvalu are well looked after by friends and relatives wherever they go. Their large innocent eyes show that they do not know what it means to be excluded, or at risk. (Chuang Kung-ju)

Tuvalu is made up of nine atolls, a chain of volcanic islands stretching 560 kilometers through the Pacific. The nation voted for its independence in 1974 and adopted the name "Tuvalu," which means "eight standing together," as the smallest and most distant of the islands remained uninhabited until 1949 and was considered insignificant.

An archipelago nation with a population of just over 12,000, Tuvalu is the fourth smallest country in the world. While suffering complete obscurity for most of its existence, in the past 10 years it has become symbolic of a future shaped by climate change. As a result of sea level rises due to increasing global temperatures, scientists predict that Tuvalu will be completely inundated within the next 50 years. Hence Tuvalu's leader has become devoted to arousing international attention to the crises affecting small island nations, and massive media coverage has brought the potential tragedy of the "submerging" islands to public attention around the world.

In the early morning of February 28 this year, the South American nation of Chile suffered an earthquake at magnitude 8.8. Immediately afterwards, all Pacific island countries received a warning from the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center on the US island of Hawaii.