Taiwan Today

People of the island province find it hard to recall that less than four decades ago they had to kowtow to the Japanese and sweet potatoes were the staple diet. Today they bow as equals and eat the best In remote antiquity, Taiwan was part of the Chinese mainland. It broke off later as result of some underseas geological changes. Geographically, Taiwan faces the Pacific in the east and the Philippines across the Bashi Channel in the south. It is separated from Fukien Province on the Chinese mainland by the Taiwan Straits in the west. It holds a key position in the Western Pacific. Taiwan, including the Penghu islands, covers an area of 36,000 square kilometers. It is the biggest island of the Republic of China. It looks like a spindle extending from the south to the north. The island is low in latitude. The northern Tropic of Cancer bisects it into a tropic zone in the south and a subtropic zone in the north. Monsoon makes the island perennially green and its climate always springlike. The Portuguese, Spanish and Dutch all tried to occupy Taiwan and turn it into a colony during the 16th century, but did not succeed. Taiwan's relationship with mainland China began as early as the third century during the period of the Three Kingdoms, when King Sun Chuan of the State of Wu sent an envoy to Taiwan. During the Ming and Ch'ing Dynasties, large numbers of Chinese crossed the Taiwan Straits to settle on the island. They established villages and towns on the plains in the western part of the island. At the end of the first Sino-Japanese War in 1895, Taiwan was ceded to Japan under the Treaty of Shimonoseki and remained under Japanese control for 50 years. Following Japan's surrender on August 14, 1945, the island was retroceded to the Republic of China on October 25 the same year, and the very next day it became a province of the Republic of China. In the early years following retrocession, Taiwan was governed by the Administrative Governor's Office, which was subsequently reorganized into a provincial government in 1947. Simultaneously the administrative division of the island into five chou and three ting made during the days of Japanese occupation was changed into eight hsien (counties). In 1949, the Central Government of the Republic of China moved its seat to Taiwan, and in 1950 redivided the island into 16 hsien, five hsien-level cities and one administrative office. In July, 1977, the Central Government made Taipei a special municipality with a status equal to that of the Taiwan Province to meet the requirement of political and economic development. The city's jurisdiction was extended to Chingmei, Shihlin, Mucha, Peitou, Neihu and Nankang, all townships which previously were parts of Taipei County. On July 1, 1979, Kaohsiung was also made a special municipality. Now, there are 16 hsien (counties) and three hsien-level cities under the jurisdiction of the Taiwan Provincial Government. Since retrocession, the Central Government of the Republic of China has launched various projects on Taiwan based on Dr. Sun Yat-sen's Three Principles of the People (Nationalism, Democracy and the People's Livelihood). Militarily, the government has improved the training and combat readiness of the three armed forces, established a conscription system, raised the self-production capacity for weapons, and effectively curbed Chinese Communist attempts at infiltration and subversion. In this way the security of this bastion of national recovery has been ensured. Politically, the government has been working hard to promote democracy and the rule of law. It has protected the people's basic rights and freedoms, carried out local self-government, and held periodic parliamentary elections. Besides, the government has spared no effort in eliminating corruption and improving the judicial system to make the government clean, fair and efficient. Economically, the government's measures have included land reform, increase of agricultural and industrial production, promotion of foreign trade, monetary stabilization, the completion of 10 major construction projects, the launching of 12 new development projects and the all-out promotion of grass roots construction. These have enabled the island to move into heavy and petrochemical industries and to change its economic structure and to further raise the people's living standard. These have also enabled the country to move into the ranks of the developed nations of the world. Educationally and culturally, the government has furthered the traditional culture and promoted scientific and technological research. At the same time, it has extended free education from six years to nine years for all school-age children. Socially, the government has gone to all lengths to ensure social stability, improve public health, sponsor insurance for laborers and public functionaries, improve farmers' associations and fishermen's associations, offer vocational training and assistance, expand social relief and build low-cost housing for the people. These have made Taiwan a good place to live and to work. In the last 30 years, Taiwan province has had eight governors, namely, Wei Tao-ming, Chen Cheng, Wu Kuo-chen, Yu Hung-chun (O. K. Yu), Yen Chia-kan, Chou Chih-jou, Chen Ta-ching and Shieh Tung-min. The incumbent governor is Lin Yang-kang. All of them have worked hard to carry out the provincial administration in keeping with the policies and guidelines of the Central Government. In doing so, they all have had the enthusiastic support of the people of the whole island. During the 50 years of Japanese occupation, Taiwan was ruled through a governor's office which had unlimited power and controlled the lives of millions of people. All government officials were Japanese. The Japanese policemen were tyrannical. A number of Chinese born in Taiwan were selected to serve as Pao cheng, the bridge between police and the local populace. After retrocession, the Japanese were repatriated to Japan, the administration was conducted by the Taiwan Administrative Governor's Office, and indigenous Chinese began to serve as government officials. In the beginning, mayors and magistrates were appointed, whereas county and city councilors were elected by the people. In 1947, the Administrative Governor's Office was reorganized into a provincial government. On April 24, 1950, the "Guidelines for Implementing Local Self-government in Counties and Cities of Taiwan" were promulgated. Under the government's leadership and with the active participation of the people, Taiwan has had a remarkable record of local self-government. It has implemented all six of the statutory tasks—taking census, establishing organs, fixing land prices, building roads, reclaiming waste land and opening schools. Today, with exception of the mayors of Taipei and Kaohsiung, two special municipalities, all the mayors and magistrates of cities and counties and all the township chiefs and members of representative organs are elected by popular vote. For years, the government has appealed to the people's sense of civic duty in the election of officials and representatives. The people have lived up to the government's expectation when they cast their votes to elect those who can serve them. Many of the elected officials have proved to be competent and responsible functionaries. In all elections, seats are reserved for women and aboriginal candidates to make local self-government fair to everybody. Besides, the parliamentary elections have also been carried out periodically. All this proves that democratic government has taken root in Taiwan. Through their participation in local government, the people also increased their understanding of democracy. They have come to appreciate that they can have freedom, equality and a comfortable life only under a free and democratic political system. Because they have the right to participate in the political process, they have really become a part of the country and society. This sense of identification lies behind their all-out support of the government and has laid the foundation for social stability and economic development. Political progress, social stability and economic prosperity are mutually supportive and complementary. The Republic of China has often been cited as a model for developing nations. Nevertheless, we are not satisfied with this achievement. We shall apply our experience and success in implementing local self-government to the task of reconstructing a new China after we recover the mainland. Our success in turning our agricultural economy into an industrial economy in the last 35 years should be attributed to the success in our land reform. Our industrial development began with land reform. Following the implementation of farm rental reduction and the land-to-the-tiller program, the landlords invested the money they received for relinquishing their land in major industries related to the people's livelihood. This has turned Taiwan's agricultural society into an industrial society. On the other hand, the tenant farmers worked harder after they came to own the land they tilled. Their income has increased and their livelihood improved. Because they have the ability to provide a better education for their children, the quality of rural manpower has improved, too. This is particularly true since the implementation of nine-year free education. Graduates of junior high schools have been attracted to factories, and they have become elements of an energetic work force. With the elevation of the knowledge and skills on the part of the workers, which has been coupled with the massive investment and introduction of modern technology, the labor-intensive industries have been gradually turned into technology-intensive industries which can produce high-grade products. In the early days after retrocession, sugar, rice and a few other agricultural products were the main items available for export. Taiwan's industrial development began with light industry, which calls for less investment, minimal skills and simple production processes, but it could yield quick results. Since Taiwan launched its first economic development plan, it has seen rapid agricultural, industrial and commercial expansion. By establishing export processing zones and industrial parks, Taiwan has also brought in a great deal of basic technology. In the past, the island had to import electrical appliances, machinery and plastic products. Now it has become a major exporter of these products. Since retrocession, Taiwan has made tremendous strides in all aspects of life. Industry and commerce have prospered. In 1979, industrial exports reached US$14,569 million. The Taiwan Economic Institute predicted that per capita income this year would most likely exceed US$2,000. Traditionally, the Chinese people depended on agriculture, and agricultural revenues always played a major role in their economy. Now the situation has changed. Factories, large and small, are found everywhere in Taiwan. The farmers work on their farms during agricultural season, and they may go to work in factories nearby when the season is over. At present, agricultural income occupies only 27 per cent of an average farmer's total earnings each year. We may say that since retrocession, our economy has been moved from the ragtag start onto the road of fast growth. In the process, we have encountered an assortment of storms and crises, but we have invariably overcome them and moved on toward greater development. In the free world, our economic development has been praised as a model for developing nations. This is mainly because we can keep commodity prices stable while our economy has kept on growing. In other words, our economy grows amidst stability. Education is an undertaking crucial to future generations and also determines the prospect for prosperity of the nation and people. In the last 35 years, our efforts in education have won worldwide acclaim. When Taiwan was under Japanese occupation, education was typically colonial in nature. There were only one university and a few colleges. At that time, the purpose of higher education was not to promote high-level academic studies or to cultivate talented people. It was intended to study various raw materials and exploit various natural resources for use by the Japanese in their imperialistic expansion. Chinese students in Taiwan were prohibited from studying political science, law and economics. They could study only medicine and agriculture. There were no Chinese professors on the college faculties, and there were only a handful of Chinese students. The opportunity for Chinese in Taiwan to receive higher education was highly limited. Before retrocession, there were only five institutions of higher learning with an aggregate enrollment of 2,174 students. Now the number of such institutions has increased 20 times and that of students 150 times. This growth is really a miracle. Because of education equality, social stability and economic prosperity as well as the elimination of restrictions, the rate of children attending school has increased tremendously in recent years. Besides, a large number of teachers came with the Central Government in the late 1950s from the mainland and this raised the quality of teaching in Taiwan. Before the extension of public education from six to nine years, each primary school pupil from the third grade up had to carry a heavy satchel when he left for school early in the morning and returned home in the evening to take cram lessons in preparation for entrance examinations to junior high school. As a result, many of them looked pale and wore glasses. Realizing that the people must be strong before a nation can be strong, the government decided to extend public education from six to nine years as from the fall of 1968. A system of school zones was adopted, and one junior high was established in each zone. The number of classes of each school has been increased and new schools have been added each year to meet the growing needs. Extension of the length of public education has increased the ratio of primary school graduates entering the junior high school and at the same time eliminated the need for cram lessons. Formerly reading was almost the only subject emphasized in schools. Now the purpose is for a balanced development of moral, intelligence, physique, team spirit and esthetics. Noticeable progress has also been made in the physical health of the people, and in the development of junior baseball sports, music and arts. The success of Chinese in Little League and Senior League baseball in international competitions in recent years was a concrete result of the extension of free public education. Economic prosperity and changes in social structure have changed thinking of parents about sending their children to high schools. They now realize that it is not always necessary to send their children to senior high or college before they can achieve outstanding success in business and other pursuits. The government has gone all-out to promote vocational education, which has made tremendous improvement both in quality and in quantity in recent years, as compared with the period prior to retrocession. There are vocational schools of agriculture, engineering, commerce, home economics and medical science. Students can choose anyone they like. In addition to formal education, adult education has also prospered in the Republic of China. There are supplementary schools for workers in factories, supplementary classes for the general public, on-the-air schools, on-the-job training and even supplementary schools for prisoners. All this has come as a result of hard work and long-term planning. Effort and investment in education will bear fruit in the next 10 to 100 years. In the last 35 years, the living standard of the people has been raised to a new high and their diet has totally changed. In the past, people suffered from insufficient nutrition, whereas now they are worried about overeating. The Council for Agricultural Planning and Development reported that the per capita daily intake of calories in Taiwan has reached 2,900, exceeding the standard 2,400, and that of protein 80 grams as compared with the standard 58 grams. Before retrocession, porridge made of sweet potato chips was the staple food. Sometimes, when sweet potatoes were not available, people had to go out to collect weeds, snails, fish or shrimps to make up their food shortage. Because of the rice shortage immediately after retrocession, the government had to impose food rationing. The system allowed people to buy only a limited quantity of rice from shops on the evidence of their domicile registration book. Rice sold at that time was poor in quality. It was adulterated with sand, husks and other impure materials. Food was the major outlay for each family. Now there is often a surplus of rice. Sometimes there are not enough bins to hold a bumper harvest. People are tired of eating fish, chicken and pork, which in the old days were available only on festivals or at the time of the Chinese New Year. At that time, people were tired of eating sweet potatoes, but now sweet potatoes have become a welcome dish in restaurants. A variety of fruit trees were successfully introduced from abroad. The import ban on several kinds of fruit has been lifted. Nowadays people can eat delicious fruit that was available only to wealthy families several years ago. "To dine out" has become a pleasure in our busy life. There are different cuisines for our choice, whereas for many years following Retrocession only Chinese and Japanese dishes were available. At that time, even the elite could not get a meal of beefsteak or seafood. Now they are offered by roadside eateries in the evening. Gourmets from all walks of life can enjoy a hearty meal at little expense. After eating a late night supper, people can go home by taxi even as late as two o'clock in the morning. They need not worry about their safety. People have taken for granted all these enjoyments which were available to very few people in the past. In both quality and quantity, Chinese food ranks high in the world. Taiwan has been described as the gourmets' paradise. Clothing of people in Taiwan today reflects rapid economic growth, prosperity of the textile industry, increase of the per capita income and the rising standard of living in the last 35 years. This improvement is continuing. Before retrocession, most families could not afford to buy new clothes. They used to mend a father's clothes for his son to wear and those of a mother for her daughter. Big brother's clothes were passed on to younger brothers and older sister's to younger sisters. This gave business only to clothesmending shops. Their job was to patch and mend, not to deliberately make new cowboy suits look old and used as some of the mending tailors do nowadays. Actually, no mending and patching are necessary for most clothes today, because they are made of durable fabrics and the need for patching rarely occurs. Today people in Taiwan do not know what a worn-out piece of clothing looks like. In the early years after retrocession, people in Taiwan did not need to wear patched clothes any more but they had to starch their clothes with rice porridge and then iron them with a charcoal-heated iron before they were ready for wearing. The charcoal-heated irons often caused fires. Now the clothes the people in Taiwan wear are easy to wash, quick to dry and free from wrinkles. An electric washer can do the job of cleaning. Housewives are spared their toil of the past. In the early years of retrocession, wooden clogs were the most popular footwear. The din of these clogs was incessant. Later the situation improved somewhat as women chose to wear shoes made of cloth. Still later, nylon stockings appeared and became an object of envy for most women. Today, they are on sale at NT$50 (US$1.40) for three pairs. Readymade garments are good and inexpensive. They have been exported in large quantities, making the Republic of China one of the major suppliers of garments in the world. Many overseas Chinese and foreign tourists make shopping for garments at Taiwan's department stores one of the main activities on their programs. Dress designers of various countries rate the dress of Taiwan among the foremost in the world. It is not difficult to see the changes in clothing in Taiwan, progressing from the period of mending and patching during days of Japanese occupation, to the thrift in wearing practiced in the early years after retrocession and to the people's fastidiousness about what they wear today. With the rapid development of industry and commerce and social and economic prosperity, the construction of new housing has witnessed recordbreaking growth. Designs and interior decorations have both made great improvement. To acquire a beautiful house is no longer a dream. It is the erstwhile adobe houses that have become more and more of a rarity. They have given way to multistory apartment buildings and hillside and seaside villas. In the early years following retrocession, all the shops and houses were made of wood and roofed with tiles. Japanese-style houses with straw mattress floors were commonplace. They were subject to destruction by typhoons, fires and termites. During the typhoon season, the adobe shelters in the countryside were always the first to suffer damage. Their thatched roofs could not withstand a sudden gust of wind, and in case of torrential rains, they quickly turned into mud. Today, high quality buildings are made of good materials, making them comfortable places to live. Interior decorations are often beautiful. In the cities, high-rises are commonplace. In the suburbs, apartments of several stories can be seen everywhere. Some wealthy people even own villas on hillsides or along the seacoast for weekend use. In January, 1959, the government began a program of building public housing to provide budget-price houses so low-income citizens can buy houses with bank loans at a low interest. Houses for military and government personnel have been built by special arrangement. All these measures are aimed at the early realization of the ideal of "a house for every family that needs it." In recent years, our living environment has been improved a great deal by the development of new communities, the beautification of old ones and the addition of parks and green belts. Large quantities of electrical appliances have found their way into homes. Since 1961, the refrigerator has become a common household item. When the first television station went on the air, people crowded before the few existing sets to watch the programs. Now, this scene no longer exists. In recent years, telephones and air conditioners have also become commonplace in most homes of Taiwan. The adobe shelters have largely disappeared amidst clusters of beautiful tall buildings. The real estate boom indicates that people attach increasing importance to the improvement of their houses once they can afford better food and better clothing. Thirty years ago, the pedicab was the main means of transport in the cities. Pedicabmen used to assemble in many places waiting to be hired. At the time of retrocession, the city of Taipei had only four buses. Railway coaches were made of wood, and the seats were dirty and hard. It was dimly lit and hot in the coaches. The coal-fueled locomotive could run at only 31 kilometers an hour, and it took 12 hours to go from Taipei in the north to Kaohsiung in the south. Nominally, the Highway Bureau had 356 highway buses, but only 18 of them could run. The whole island had only 487 kilometers of paved roads, and other roads were bumpy and dusty. Today Kaohsiung and Keelung are the two busiest harbors in Taiwan. At the time of retrocession, they could accommodate ships of only less than 8,000 tons. Pedicabs were the last to go after retrocession, mainly because the people liked them for their low fare. Finally, they were eliminated as a result of social progress, to be replaced by metered taxis, most of them air-conditioned. In the early days, most people used bicycles. These had to be imported because there was no plant to make them in Taiwan. Tradespeople liked to use Fuji bicycles because they had a big rack behind the seat for carrying goods. Thirty-five years after retrocession, the progress of transportation can be seen everywhere. Most bicycles made in Taiwan are for export, and only a fraction of them are sold locally to students or to fitness-conscious people for exercise. Motorcycles and cars have become the main means of transport. Locally made and imported cars can be seen everywhere. Taiwan's railways have been electrified, and an expressway has been built down the island to cut the people's travel time. It now takes only four hours to go from Keelung in the north to Kaohsiung in the south by train and not much more to cover the same distance by car. Taiwan's shipping fleet has been expanded, too. Ships flying the flag of the Republic of China reach the major ports of the Free World. People have become more demanding in intellectual life as a result of social changes, the increase of per capita income, and the incessant improvement of living conditions. This has given rise to many recreational activities which were beyond the imagination of the people only a few years ago. Immediately before retrocession, the Japanese were still fighting in the Pacific and on the Chinese mainland. They seized all materials to feed their military machine, making the lives of Chinese people on Taiwan all the more miserable. Under such circumstances, people could not afford to engage in any recreational activities. Only on festivals and birthdays of certain deities were native operas and puppet shows staged. Some itinerant artists would perform and sell goods. There were only a few movie theaters, even in large townships. Most of the films were Japanese propaganda pictures with little or no entertainment value. In the early years after retrocession, native operas and puppet shows continued to be the main entertainment fare. Then new operas began to appear, attracting a number of people. Still later came domestic films and foreign movies were imported. The people's tastes underwent a radical change when the first television station was established in 1962. Since then, television has become the main form of recreation for most families. Today many forms of entertainment and recreation are available. People can choose according to their interests. Those who are conscious of physical fitness may select mountaineering, swimming, skiing, dancing and various ball games, whereas those of an intellectual bent may prefer chess, bridge or academic discussions. Those who wish to cultivate their tastes and lead a quiet life might opt for painting, reading, going to operas or movies, watching television or enjoying folk arts. Recreational activities have made life vigorous and interesting for the people of Taiwan. In recent years, the government has encouraged tourism. Every county on the island is busy building sightseeing facilities. The government has established a number of national parks. These efforts have attracted many visitors. In the past, to go sightseeing abroad was a privilege only for wealthy businessmen. Now people can leave Taiwan to visit various places of the Free World by fulfilling simple formalities. They are learning a lot from their trips abroad. Afterwards they invariably say that Taiwan is a better place to live and raise families than most of the countries they have visited.