....-~ ou'RE A GARBAGE HEAP!" cried the legislator. "You're the fattest cockroach feeding on the garbage!" his political opponent shouted. It was but one moment in a session of the Li-fa Yuan, the highest lawmaking body of Taiwan, charac­ terized by shouting and bloody brawls that "Speak the truth, do have sent at least three parliamentarians to the right thing, per­ the hospital. fonn real service,'' urges independent "Nothing to get excited about," my friend candidate Hong Tsung Sen Hong Yang said later over Chinese tea Lin, campaigning­ in a Taipei teahouse. "Just another day at the unsuccessfully-in Li-fa Yuan." Kaohsiung last year. Only a few years ago such an exchange in the In that election voters staid halls of the Taiwan congress would have chose the entire par­ been unthinkable. Now it symbolizes a sea liament from a multi­ change in the government and politics of Tai­ party slate for the wan-the first prosperous, stable democracy first time, a milestone in the history of the Chinese people. in the move from This new Taiwan is nothing like the bleak authoritarian rule to island garrison I knew when I first went there democracy. Outside parliament as an interpreter for the United States Air in the capital of Tai­ Force in 1958. Then, the Cold War raged, and pei, Po-yu Wu protests Taiwan was among the poorest and most pre­ for freedom of speech. carious outposts in "Free Asia." The shadow Her husband, Hua of communist China loomed, just a hundred Huang, was injailfor miles away across the Taiwan Strait. Only promoting Taiwan's U.S. economic and military aid kept that independence from colossal dragon at bay. China-his fourth By the time I arrived, the U. S. Seventh incarceration for Fleet commanded the strait, and U. S. B-52s rebellious acts. cruised the skies overhead. On Quemoy and Matsu, Taiwan's islets near the mainland coast, artillery batteries buried deep in con­ crete bunkers exchanged bombardments with Chiang Kai-shek fled to China's offshore pos­ communist gunners in Fujian Province. When sessions with two million refugees. All that I flew into Quemoy back then, the strain was was left of the Nationalists' dominion was the ragged and constant. I have never forgotten mountainous, 230-mile-long island of Tai­ the granite-cracking thunder of those shells­ wan; ~ Pescador~:-acruster of rocky wind­ or that first realization that out across the swept islands in the center of the strait; and the water people were actually trying to kill me. garrison islets of Quemoy and Matsu lying in Times change. Today U. S. assistance is sight of the China coast. long gone, and Taiwan, officially the Republic Chiang's followers maintained that they of China, is one of the largest economic powers would once again rule one China under the in the region. Nationalist flag. They made Taipei, Taiwan's But Taiwan could hardly have traveled a largest city, their capital-in-exile until they more tortuous road to reach its success. In could regroup and recapture the mainland. 1949 China fell to the communists. The bat­ Their chances for achieving reunification tered army of Nationalist Generalissimo seemed to wane with each passing year, but ARTHUR ZICH is a frequent contributor who spe­ their policy toward the communists remained cializes in Asian subjects. His most recent article, resolutely based on no contact, no negotiation, "Japan's Sun Rises Over the Pacific," appeared in and no compromise-the "three noes." November 1991. Nationalist legislators, who had been

10 National Geographic, November 1993 ng

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led to China's offshore pos- million refugees. All that ionalists' dominion was the )-mile-long island of Tai­ ·es, a cluster of rocky wind­ e center of the strait; and the ~uemoy and Matsu lying in coast. vers maintained that they rule one China under the 'hey made Taipei, Taiwan's · capital-in-exile until they d recapture the mainland. or achieving reunification 1Vith each passing year, but d the communists remained n no contact, no negotiation, se-the "three noes." gislators, who had been

Geographic, Novemb er 1993 11 elected on the mainlan

t:J Matsu (TAIWAN) Strained relations EASTC Populated mostly from China's Fujian Prov­ ince after 1600, Taiwan gave refuge to Chiang YANG NAT/I Kai-shek's Nationalists when Mao Zedung and his troops took over the mainland in 1949. Tanshu Nationalist Taiwan (the Republic of China) ) considers itself the rightful government of all ./·:···...... <\. <\,1 China. Yet each side-the hard-driving capi- \. \. talists in Taiwan and the hard-line communists\ ~~ ~ ~ Mia in the People's Republic of China-wants ·· <\. <\, EAST -WEST CRO reunification only under its own system. Mean- $ $ ISLAND HIGH Feng while, Taiwan has become an economic power- Taic house, centered in Taipei (above).

SUN YAT-SEN FREEWAY

+-+ Proposed high-speed railway

0 50 HONGKONG y_ (UNITED KINGDOM) MI LES 0 ,-~ MACAU ,.V ictoria SOUTH CHINA SEA NGS CARTOGRAPHIC DIVISION (l!ORTUGAL) - ..,

elected on the mainland as representatives of that formed in protest. All over the island Tai­ all China in 194 7, kept those positions in Tai­ wanese rebelled and rioted. No one will ever wan for more than 40 years. In effect the know the exact number of Taiwanese killed, Nationalist Party and the Taiwan government but a recent study sanctioned by the govern­ were one and the same, and their legitimacy ment reports that it may have been as many rested on the principle of one China. On that as 28,000. point they would brook no argument. And so, in practice, they added a fourth "no": OLITICS ASIDE, it is almost impos­ no political dissent by native Taiwanese. sible today to tell the difference Wielding the authority of martial law, the between Taiwanese and main­ Nationalists restricted free speech, press, and landers. Among the native Tai­ assembly; prohibited opposition parties; and wanese, reverence for things punished dissenters with jail, torture, even PChinese runs deep, and I saw it surface in death. They sought to cultivate a sense of countless ways in their daily lives. In the pre­ "Chineseness" and suppress the islanders' dawn stillness of the hills behind Taipei's separate identity as Taiwanese, even banning stately old Grand Hotel, I joined scores of Taiwanese history in the schools and the Tai­ early risers in tai-chi chuan, the ancient Chi- . / wanese dialect from public life. nese exercise ritual. At the 18th-century Lung / On February 28, 1947-a date Taiwanese Shan Temple, I watched worshipers stream bitterly remember as er-er-pa, "two-two­ in, each to light a joss stick, say a prayer, and I eight" -an incident occurred that further leave a fragrant jade orchid blossom to Kuan / explains the resentment native Taiwanese still Yin, the Buddhist goddess of mercy and the feel for the mainlanders. On that day Nation­ most beloved of China's deities. One night in alist police beat an old woman selling black­ Taipei's "Snake Alley," with the blaze of market cigarettes, then fired into the crowd neon Chinese characters flashing in the pud- dles underfoot, I watched hawkers snatch live cobras from their cages, slit them open, and 17 Matsu mix the blood with herbs and wine into a Chi- (TAIWAN) nese potion believed to restore potency. Wiz- EAST CHINA SEA ened old men guzzled it down on the spot. I found Chineseness in little touches too. YANGMINGSHAN One afternoon over a bowl of noodles at a tiny NATIONAL PARK sidewalk shop, I was reading the poet Li Pai, who wrote in the eighth century during Chi­ na's Tang dynasty, when a young Taiwanese waitress looked over my shoulder and began reading with me. "Li Pai's my favorite poet ~ too!" she exclaimed. InLukang, an old fishing / port on the Taiwan Strait, I met Li Sung-lin, an elderly but spry wood-carver. His tiny house was jammed with his carvings of the gods and demons of Taoist myth. He greeted me with a viselike handshake and a welcome in classical Chinese: "Is it not indeed a plea- k... sure when friends visit from afar!" It was the opening of The Analects of Confucius. But Taiwan's Chineseness is best reflected SUN VAT-SEN f FREEWAY in a kind of joie de vivre at simply being Chi­ PHILIPPINE nese among other Chinese, the more the bet­ SEA ter. I got a taste of this with my friend Sen Hong Yang at the annual Dragon Boat Fes­ tival at the lovely country town of Ilan. We L+ Proposed high-speed railway were standing on a bridge over the Ilan River 50 watching the long, slender dragon boats rac­ ll.£S ing by below. The cheering crowd around us ~ CIJITOGllA,P'HlC DMSK>N ' Lan Yu 13 wassothickwecouldn'tmove. Thedinoffire- between the two sides was worth more than Kai-shek Memorial. crackers was earsplitting, and we could barely seven billion dollars. And the two were con- words. "We don't wan see the water through the smoke. tinuing negotiations to improve relations. land regime," Fan said. Suddenly the squeal and clank of Chinese I saw the effects of this thaw everywhere. were outsiders. To then horns and gongs joined the cacophony as a On Quemoy the military's guard was still up, They reckoned they w "'-mummers' parade of Taoist deities pranced but the atmosphere resembled a college cam­ mainland, so they spe ontothe bridge. Just then the sky opened andit pus more than an embattled outpost. Not long armed forces and next began to pour. Sen Hong and I looked at each Nafter my visit the military returned both rails, and harbors. We ' other. There was no need for words. Soaked to I/ Quemoy and Matsu to civilian control. been our own boss. We the skin, water running off our noses in cas- But the biggest change was on Taiwan cades, we simply stood there, arms aroupd proper. Close to 300 newspapers, many of YTHETIMJ f each other, laughing. It wasjen-ching-wei- them sharply critical of government policies, but one that intangible joy of being Chinese. were thriving. political I The native Taiwanese were asserting their jailed for SPITE their common culture, a identity in ways I had never seen before. Of dence fro great gulf still separates the the nearly 2 million people on Taiwan, ~ Breleased. The exceptior two Chinas. No formal peace percent are descendants of Chinese who emi­ 56, a native TaiwanesE has been declared, and direct grated-from Fujian Province and elsewhere independence movemen travel is still prohibited. But along the coast between the l~Os and 1949; I visited Chang insid Dmartial law is gone from Taiwan. And now the Like the mainlanders, they speak Mandarin, / prison. Wesatatasimplj islanders look toward the mainland less in fear but they also speak Min-nan hua, the old Fuji- Chang's skin was pale, than with an eye toward business investment an dialect that the ~ alist; had banned. red. He told me he ha~ where labor is cheap, workers are plentiful, "In grade school we were fined a dollar for nosed with heart trouble and construction costs are low. Indeed many every Taiwanese word they caught us using," Chang told me in a so ~ Taiwanese firms have already moved-an recalls Fan Yun, a ~ 4-year-old Taiwanese the government revoked underwear factory to coastal Shanghai, a graduate student at Taiwan University. "We was a student at Rice U1 baby-food manufacturer to Beijing, and a had to wear a sign around our necks that said, years ago. He and his tomato-packing plant to the far northwest. 'I was bad. I spoke Min-nan hua.' " U. S. citizens. But when By 1993 Taiwanese investments in main­ Three years ago Fan led the island's first wan in 1991, the Nation land China, pouring in mostly through Hong major student demonstration-a week-long the airport. "They wan Kong, reached 8. 9 billion dollars. Trade sit-in of 3,000 students at Taipei's Chiang Chang said. "I said, 'Ta Veiled against the sun, women sort electronics trash-much of it originally importedfrom the United States--at a government-run yard near Kaohsiung. Recov­ ered metals earn big profits on this mineral-poor island, but the expense of controlling pollution during the extrac­ tion process has put the industry in jeopardy. Taiwan's future lies in its own electronics industry, especially now that the man­ ufacture of labor-intensive goods-the foundation of re­ cent wealth-is being driven by high wages to cheaper locations elsewhere inAsia. ThUi microchip factory (right) operates in a high­ tech industrial park built by the government in Hsinchu, the island's Silicon Valley. .; ides was worth more than Kai-shek Memorial. She does not mince They sentenced Chang to five years in jail rs. And the two were con- words. "We don't want to live under a main­ on charges of conspiracy and sedition, accus­ 1s to improve relations. land regime," Fan said. "The old leaders here ing him of "stealing the national territory" - ; of this thaw everywhere. were outsiders. To them, Taiwan was a hotel. the Nationalist phrase for advocating inde­ ilitary's guard was still up, They reckoned they were going back to the pendence. "How can I steal it?" Chang asked e resembled a college cam­ mainland, so they spent huge sums on the me. "I was born here. It's mine!" mbattled outpost. Not long armed forces and next to nothing on roads, One day I came across Mr. Yin, an old .e military returned both rails, and harbors. We Taiwanese have never Nationalist soldier whose claim to Taiwan u to civilian control. been our own boss. We want independence.'' was no less valid than Chang's. Yin had lived t change was on Taiwan in Taiwan for nearly 50 years. 300 newspapers, many of y THE TIME I LEFT TAIWAN, all It was a typical Taipei afternoon. The day cal of government policies, but one of the Nationalists' was overcast, the air muggy and thick with political prisoners, who were smog. I was strolling a residential section of vanese were asserting their jailed for advocating indepen­ thecityknownasNumber7 Park. Old men sit­ had never seen before. Of dence from China, had been ting on low stools kibitzed over a match of wei­ lion people on Taiwan, ~ Breleased. The exception was George Chang, chi, a popular board game. In the shade of 1dants of Chinese who emi­ 56, a native Taiwanese and a leader of the a wine red bougainvillea, an old woman LD Province and elsewhere independence movement for 30 years. snipped turnip greens. Tawny hens pecked :tween the 1600s and 1949. I visited Chang inside Taipei's Tu Cheng and strutted in the lane. h.-- ~ lers, they speak Mandarin, prison. We sat at a simple table in a bare room. Mr. Yin, a bald, apple-cheeked man wear- t Min-nan hua, the old Fuji- / Chang's skin was pale, his eyes rimmed with ing a sleeveless undershirt, denim shorts, and e Nationalists- had banned. red. He told me he had recently been diag­ flip-flops, lived at Number 17 , Alley 21. He 11 we were fined a dollar for nosed with heart trouble and hypertension. had just passed his 80th birthday, he told me vord they caught us using," Chang told me in a soft, quaking voice how proudly, but still rose before dawn and ped­ a 24-year-old Taiwanese the government revoked his passport when he aled his daily paper route to 300 homes. Lean- at Taiwan University. "We was a student at Rice University in Texas 30 ing his bicycle against a whitewashed wall, - around our necks that said, years ago. He and his wife, Tina, became Yin told me of a life that had come full circle.~ e Min-nan hua.' " U.S. citizens. But when they returned to Tai­ In the early days of exile the Nationalist gov­ o Fan led the island's first wan in 1991, the Nationalists detained them at ernment wanted to make this 25-acre tract into !monstration-a week-long the airport. "They wanted to deport me," a park. But they were forced by the flood of :udents at Taipei's Chiang Chang said. "I said, 'Taiwan is my home.'" refugees from the mainland descending on the

Veiled against the sun, .vomen sort electronics trash-much of it originally tmportedfrom the United States-at a government-run lf(lrd near Kaohsiung. Recov­ ~red metals earn big profits 1>n this mineral-poor island, but the expense ofcontrolling pollution during the extrac­ tion process has put the industry in jeopardy. Taiwan's future lies in its own electronics industry, especially now that the man­ ufacture of labor-intensive goods-the foundation of re­ cent wealth-is being driven by high wages to cheaper locations elsewhere in Asia. This microchip factory (right) operates in a high­ tech industrial park built by the government in Hsinchu, the island's Silicon Valley.

city to turn the land into a squatters commu­ hometown in Sichuan Province, and he says Taipei's Academia Sin· nity. Over the years Yin and the other squat­ my money will go a whole lot further there. a strong man to termim ters turned their shanties into modest houses, Why, I'll be well-to-do in Fengdu! My son's said. "CCK had few paved the muddy lanes, planted trees, and the head of the Fengdu Communist Party!" one. He was old, almos , opened tiny groceries. The place took on the was dying. And there's charm of a quiet Chinese village. Then, a few N 1978, Chiang Ching-kuo, the eldest 'Before one dies, one te years ago, authorities announced that they son of Chiang Kai-shek and longtime In January 1988 CC were reclaiming the land for the park it was head of the secret police, succeeded picked successor, Presi meant to be - and bulldozing everything on it. to the presidency. I attended the first chief of state bor Yin would lose his house. ceremonies, and as Chiang began movement alive. Last "Nothing can be done," Yin said. "I'll get Ihis inaugural address in Tuipei's great red- / of Taiwan elected a w compensation for my house and my army pen­ ,draped Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall, I won­ finally replacing the o sion twice a year. But that doesn't amount to dered where this man, known to many by been elected in 194 7. Df much. I'm a Nationalist, but the government the initials CCK, might lead Taiwan. I was But while the Nation doesn't care about me. There is nothing for me as surprised as anyone when, in July 1987, of the island, winning ' here except to walk the streets." he ended martial law. "The party," he had the opposition Democra What will you do? I asked. declared earlier, "must accommodate itself to (DPP) won 51 of the 16 Yin's face brightened. "I'm going home!" changing times." edly strong showing. W, he said. "I've got a son in Fengdu, my H. H. Michael Hsiao, a sociologist at alists' commitment to

18 National Geographic, November 1993 Taiwan: The Other Chii .,

Ironically, the strongest influence is commu­ nist China, which has threatened war if Tai­ wan declares independence. "Beijing has warned, 'Don't play with fire,' "Ying-jeou Ma, then special assistant to President Lee, told me. "They use the phrase The silken tranquillit;y 'Fen-shen-suei-ku-We'll break your bones of Sun Moon Lake, into pieces.' " ringed by the peaks of What is perhaps most remarkable about the Taiwan's central change that has so swiftly swept over Taiwan mountain range, com­ is that so few bones have been broken. "Con­ plements the sybaritic sider the Philippines, Korea, Thailand, East­ atmosphere of a new ern Europe," Ma observed. "In each case, hoteL As wealth has increased in the past political liberalization has brought costly decade, the demand social upheaval. Taiwan is achieving democ­ for luxury accommo­ racy within a stable social order.'' dations--and for rec­ What made this peaceful transition possi­ reational facilities ble? Prosperity. Since 1951 the island's annual such as beach resorts, economic growth has averaged almost 9 per­ golf courses, and pri­ cent. This year per capita income will vate clubs-has out­ approach $10,000, bringing Taiwan into line stripped construction. with the other members of Asia's industrial A favorite getaway elite. And nowhere is this affluence more visi­ of Chiang Kai-shek, the lake offers refuge ble than in Taipei. to more than the rich When I first saw Taipei, it was poorer than and famous. Day­ poor, a grim, impoverished city of fewer trippers escaping than a million people herded between the Tan­ crowded cities, par­ shui River on the west and malarial marshes "' ticularly on the west and rice fields to the east. It w'as acuy of black­ coast, clog access roofed hovels, open sewers, and lightless roads on holidays and nights. Chung Shan North Road, the principal weekends. thoroughfare, was a two-lane blacktop plied by three-wheeled pedicabs. Taiwan's per cap­ ita income was $162 a year. Today greater Taipei's population has swollen to almost.._six million - nearly ~ r- _ :huan Province, and he says Taipei's Academia Sinica, explained. "It took cent of the island's total. Chung Shan North ~o a whole lot further there. a strong man to terminate strong rule," Hsiao Road is one of many eight-lane boulevards. 11-to-do in Fengdu! My son's said. "CCK had few friends. He trusted no The city chokes on the fumes of 460,000 cars, engdu Communist Party!" one. He was old, almost blind, and he knew he 7,300 buses, 38,000 taxis, and 869,000 motor­ was dying. And there's an old Chinese saying: cycles, whose drivers park all over the side­ :hiang Ching-kuo, the eldest 'Before one dies, one tells the truth.' " walks and often drive down them too. hiang Kai-shek and longtime In January 1988 CCK died. But his hand­ The once squalid east side flaunts palatial the secret police, succeeded picked successor, President Lee Teng-hui, the hotels, glitzy discos, and pricey restaurants. A presidency. I attended the first chief of state ' born in Taiwan, kept the well-placed parking space in a garage can sell ties, and as Chiang began movement alive. Last December the citizens for $100,000, a small apartment in an upscale !dress in Tuipei's great red- / of Taiwan elected a whole new legislature, district for more than a million dollars. :-sen Memorial Hall, I won- finally replacing the old members who had This wealth has also bought the Taiwanese is man, known to many by been elected in 194 7. Democracy had arrived. time to enjoy their leisure. But like everything ~. might lead Taiwan. I was But while the Nationalists retained control else in Taiwan, it's expensive. Karaoke, the anyone when, in July 198 7, of the island, winning 53 percent of the vote, Japanese fad of singing along to music videos, tl law. "The party," he had the opposition Democratic Progressive Party has swept Taiwan with such force that singing "must accommodate itself to (DPP) won 51 of the 161 seats- an unexpect­ schools demand tuitions as high as $75 an edly strong showing. What keeps the Nation­ hour. More than 30 golf courses cater to some iel Hsiao, a sociologist at alists' commitment to reunification alive? 400,000 golfers. And at least 80 more courses

1l Geographic, November 1993 Taiwan: The Other China.Changes Course 19 are planned, with memberships running as couldn't divorce, " Shih told me. "Under Tai­ high as $150,000. wan law, the husband took everything: chil­ Economic success and political liberaliza­ dren, property, money, even money a wife tion have quickened the pace of social change. may have brought to the marriage. There were More than a thousand special-interest groups no jobs, no openings in the schools." have sprung up over the past few years, and Shih eventually found work translating their members are making demands they American best-sellers into Chinese. "Five never would have dared to a decade ago. years after my separation, I translated Betty Friedan's The Feminine Mystique," she said. NE OF THE MOST far-reaching That did it. Shih filed for divorce, even though movements may be a challeqge she knew she would lose her son and her by Taiwan feminists to the tra­ belongings, according to the law. Then she ditional, submissive role of the founded Warm Life so she could "help women Chinese wife. Among the first of who were afraid of divorce, just as I was. It Omany women's self-help groups was the wasn't easy. At first! was facing 2, 500 years of Warm Life Association for Women. Founded Chinese tradition all by myself." in 1984, the group's name derives from a Tang But the response was overwhelming. dynasty poem that celebrates life's middle Today, Warm Life counseling offices are scat­ years-the time, Warm Life's founder, Shih tered throughout the island, and the govern­ Chi-ching, explained, "when women are most ment is helping cover the costs. And Shih likely to seek a divorce." regained custody of her 16-year-old son. Ms. Shih, a high school teacher turned "Women now have access to higher education housewife, did just that. At age 36 she discov­ and job opportunities," Shih said. "And they ered that her husband had become involved don't intend to suffer any more." with another woman. "I left him, but I It took the Cold War and strong government

Noxious air brings tears to Chen Wang-to in her home near Linyuan, in the indus­ policy to bring about Tai trial heart of Taiwan. Chen's doctor believes factory emissions caused her liver acle. In 1950 the comm ~ cancer. She died in June. In Taipei, where cars and motorcycles create much of the mounting an assault on smog that smothers the capital (right), the government directs a top-priority cam­ Korea's armies swept ove paign-initiated by citizens-to protect the environment. attack South Korea. Pres man recognized Taiwan's "an unsinkable aircraf China at bay and ordere into the Formosa Strait. nist invasion plans. A to lars in U. S. economic ai "We used U.S. aid ver Li, 82, former Taiwan ec finance minister and the a nomic miracle, told me. IJ land from landlords and s ants who tilled it. "That incentive to boost producti "and it gave the landlo become industrialists." At the same time, Li p ment of highways, telepll power. By 1965 the econo such an extent that Taiw recipient of U. S. aid to no In 1966 Taiwan launch export-processing zone in of Kaohsiung. Tiny "Iivin sprang up all over the islan

Taiwan: The Other China ..,

'Shih told me. "Under Tai­ band took everything: chil­ noney, even money a wife .to the marriage. There were 1gs in the schools." y found work translating !llers into Chinese. "Five paration, I translated Betty ninine Mystique," she said. iled for divorce, even though ould lose her son and her ·ding to the law. Then she fe so she could "help women of divorce, just as I was. It ·stI was facing 2, 500 years of all by myself." onse was overwhelming. e counseling offices are scat­ the island, and the govern­ cover the costs. And Shih r of her 16-year-old son. re access to higher education ities," Shih said. "And they ffer any more." War and strong government

[,inyuan, in the indus­ policy to bring about Taiwan's economic mir­ decade it was said that smoke coming out of a ns caused her liver acle. In 1950 the communist Chinese were chimney was the sign of a patriotic household. :les create much of the mounting an assault on Taiwan when North Everything from Christmas tree lights and ts a top-priority cam- Korea's armies swept over the 38th parallel to shoes to refrigerators and television sets attack South Korea. President Harry S. Tru­ poured off small-scale assembly lines. All of it man recognized Taiwan's strategic position as was cheap, much of it was shoddy, but it "an unsinkable aircraft carrier" keeping helped generate the capital to build heavy China at bay and ordered the Seventh Fleet industries like petrochemicals and steel that into the Formosa Strait. That ended commu­ today are among Taiwan's biggest. nist invasion plans. A total of 1.5 billion dol­ In 1980 Taiwan made its own "great leap lars in U.S. economic aid began flowing in. forward" with the opening of Hsinchu "We used U.S. aid very effectively," K. T. Science-Based Industrial Park, 45 miles from Li, 82, former Taiwan economic affairs and Taipei, in the hope of luring home the enor­ finance minister and the architect of the eco­ mous pool of technical talent working abroad. nomic miracle, told me. ·Li began by buying Here, 25,000 employees of more than 125 land from landlords and selling it to the peas­ electronics firms live and work in azalea­ ants who tilled it. "That gave our farmers landscaped surroundings reminiscent of Cali­ incentive to boost production," Li explained, fornia's Silicon Valley. One person Hsinchu "and it gave the landlords the capital to Park lured home was Patrick Wang, the genial become industrialists." founder of Microelectronics Technology Inc. At the same time, Li pressed for develop­ Wang told me how his company began. ment of highways, telephones, and electric "It was 1983," Wang said. "There were power. By 1965 the economy had improved to eight of us who'd gone to the U. S. for such an extent that Taiwan became the first advanced degrees. The U. S. had broken dip­ recipient ofU. S. aid to no longer request it. lomatic relations with Taiwan and had recog­ In 1966 Taiwan launched the world's first nized communist China. Our families were export-processing zone in the southern city here, and we were worried. Mr. Li had of Kaohsiung. Tiny "living room factories" declared a policy to lift Taiwan into the world sprang up all over the island. By the end of the of high technology. We felt that we could, and

Taiwan: The Other China Changes Course 21

should, contribute. We got together at a Chi­ nese restaurant in San Carlos, California, and decided to go back and start our company." From that simple beginning MTI has grown into an electronics giant with worldwide sales of a hundred million dollars a year. But Wang has not forgotten the impulse that brought him Handing out high home. "For the past 200 years the Chinese fives, groom William people have suffered nothing but turmoil and Tsung (center) salutes hardship," he said. "Their confidence is poor. a friend's joke at a We're a model for Chinese everywhere. If we post-wedding party in can do it, so can they!" Taipei. With a degree in business from a But while Wang and Hsinchu Park are sym­ U.S. university, Tsung bols of Taiwan's high-tech tomorrow, the is confident about his backbone of the island's prosperity remains next move: expanding those small-scale entrepreneurs who built Tai­ his car dealership wan from nothing-men like Ho Kwang­ onto the mainland. liang, 44, founder and president of Ho Hung '~lmost everybody's Ming Enterprises (HHM), whom I met at his going there because factory outside the city of Taichung. that's where the mar­ Ho's father had been a peasant. His mother ket is right now." traded vegetables for scraps of meat in the Attracted also by market. At age 13 Ho went to work in an ice­ cheap land and labor, Taiwan entrepreneurs cream-machine factory for 50 cents a day. At have invested some 17 hegota$400 bank loan andinvesteditinhis nine billion dollars own small factory for bicycle tire pumps. Ho on the mainland. worked 15 hours a day, seven days a week, and Because Taiwan and ate and slept on the factory floor. China have no official The venture failed. At age 20, Ho was contact, such invest­ $7 ,500indebtand cutoff by the bank. But one ments are mostly quality Ho and entrepreneurs like him have in made through an abundance is intrepidity. Taichung was now a intermediary, usually shoemaking hub, and Ho had relatives willing Hong Kong. to entrust their savings to his industriousness. "I started making machines that punched holes for shoelaces," Ho said with a smile. Today Ho's 25-million-dollar-a-year com­ peanuts, Sichuan garlic, and Gansu water­ Taipei-and by 6 the pany has a hundred workers in eight plants melon seeds-all marked, all smuggled in. the housewives are bu producing everything from buttons, buckles, To learn how these delicacies came across "It's getting tougher, and snaps to automated equipment for making the strait, I visited a smuggler in his handsome grinned wildly. "But th shoes. Profits are sufficient to allow Ho and his two-story house on Taiwan's rugged north­ still room for us all to c wife to own a comfortable home and send four east coast. Out front, goldfish glided in a tiled daughters and a son to college. pond. Inside, a new National refrigerator, still HINA'~ ~UJI Last year Ho opened a new shoemaking­ in its plastic wrapper, stood in the sitting prox1m1ty machine factory-in Shanghai. Having made room. A fancy rowing machine sat on the mon lang Taiwan what it is, enterprises like HHM now floor. The wiry bootlegger sat on a chair and to mention face rising land and labor costs and have dandled his baby daughter on his knee. has receive begun looking abroad for relief. Taiwan "We use rafts made of plastic pipe lashed C vestments from Taiwan. allows virtually no direct investment on the together, powered by outboard motors," he hundred Taiwan touris mainland, but since 1988 the government has said. "One raft carries ten tons of cargo. We Cobb and I took a ere permitted businessmen to channel funds there meet the mainland.vessel at mid-strait around Hong Kong to Xiamen ~ through Hong Kong or other third parties. 3 or 4 a. m., pay in cash, and run for home. Our changed. I had hoped to Still, much economic contact with the main­ people on shore warn us by cellular phone early Europeans had w , land remains illegal. In Taipei's old Tihua which inlets the police are watching. In 40 the coast in the 17th ce1 market I saw fresh Fujian clams, Shandong minutes a truck is loaded and speeding toward The harbor was a Gre

24 National Geographic, November 1993 Taiwan: The Other Chin .;

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garlic, and Gansu water­ Taipei-and by 6 the markets are open, and advertising 555, Lucky Strike, and Marlboro marked, all smuggled in. the housewives are buying our products. cigarettes; 10,000 Precious refrigerators, Fly­ ese delicacies came across "It's getting tougher," he added. Then he ing Person athletic shoes, and Coca-Cola (or as Cl a smuggler in his handsome grinned wildly. "But the sea is so vast, there's they call it in China, Ke-kou-ke-le). on Taiwan's rugged north­ still room for us all to conduct our business!" The Xiamen dock was jammed with lacka­ ont, goldfish glided in a tiled daisical communist officials, frantic hawkers, w National refrigerator, still HINA'S FUJIAN COAST, with its and clamoring pedicab drivers. Jodi and I apper, stood in the sitting proxiIDlty to Taiwan, its com­ loaded our gear into two pedicabs and jostled owing machine sat on the mon language and culture-not off like characters out of some old Hollywood ootlegger sat on a chair and cto mention its low-cost labor­ movie set in China. daughter on his knee. has received a major share of in­ It seemed as if capitalism had displaced made of plastic pipe lashed Cvestments from Taiwan. So along with several communism. Chinese from all over the main­ d by outboard motors," he hundred Taiwan tourists, photographer Jodi land had descended on the city to grab a share arries ten tons of cargo. We Cobb and I took a creaky packet boat from of its economic success. Construction was d vessel at mid-strait around Hong Kong to Xiamen to see how Fujian has everywhere. The air was thick with red-clay cash, and run for home. Our changed. I had hoped to see the city as those dust. The whole city seemed sheathed in bam­ warn us by cellular phone early Europeans had when they sailed along boo scaffolding; entire hills had been bull­ police are watching. In 40 the coast in the 17th century. No such luck. dozed away to provide clay for bricks. loaded and speeding toward The harbor was a Great Wall of billboards Everything had a price. One Taiwan

Geographic, November 1993 Taiwan: The Other China Changes Course 25 manufacturer told me it took 12 payoffs to Yang also owned part of a bottled-water move his product, which I promised not to company that sold 3, 000 bottles a day through­ name, from the mainland factory to markets out China and was an agent for a bottled-tea overseas. A tiny two-bedroom condo in a hill­ company. To bring his various enterprises side development called Mountain Phoenix under one roof, Yang had recently purchased Village listed for $73,440; a four-bedroom the gallery building, but it wasn't easy. house with a yard for $455,000. A telephone "I paid a $100, 000 bribe to government offi­ hookup? Five hundred dollars under the table. cials over and above the cost of the property," In a small storefront gallery selling mail­ he said. "It's the cost of doing business. Here order art, I met the proprietor, an affable 39- in China, everything is crazy. The only thing year-old Taiwan businessman I'll call Yang. the government doesn't control is the air." Three years ago rising labor costs had forced him to move his sunglasses factory out of Tai­ URNING TO TAIWAN was a wan to Xiamen. Yang showed us through the pleasure- to stroll its narrow three-story plant, where 300 young women lanes, to visit its temples to hunched over tiny machines producing glasses discover once again that in that cost a dollar a pair to make but sold for spite of the pollution much of about$35 in the U. S. Rit still lives up to its old Portuguese name, Ilha I was impressed. The plant was clean and Formosa- "beautiful island." ...... _...... _ filled with light. The workers seemed earnest I drove the !_?0-1!_1ile East-:West Crosk_/ and quick to smile. We had seen other factories Island Highway that belts Taiwan's mountain in Xiamen that weren't so nice - dingy places spine from the rugged east to the western with filthy toilets and polluted air. I asked coastal plain, snaking through Taroko Gorge, Yang why he seemed to care about his workers where waterfalls tumble like angel hair and more than other Taiwan entrepreneurs in the dark green jungles are spangled with wild city. "I want to help," he replied. "We 're all orchids, black-and-yellow butterflies, and Chinese people." darting, swooping birds.

Thrill seekers ride high on a rooftop amusement park in Kaohsiung, where the price of ground-level lots is prohibitive. Preoccupied/or decades with building business districts, the Taiwanese have now begun to preserve their past. In the town of Luhang, where a perfect smile advertises a dentist's office, a restored historic district embraces centuries-old shops, homes, and temples. iled part of a bottled-water 3, 000 bottles a day through­ !LSan agent for a bottled-tea ·ng his various enterprises ang had recently purchased g, but it wasn't easy. DOO bribe to government offi­ ~ ve the cost of the property," 'cost of doing business. Here ing is crazy. The only thing oesn't control is the air."

ING TO TAIWAN was a leasure-to stroll its narrow nes, to visit its _!emp~ to 1iscover once again that in pite of the pollution much of ts old Portuguese name, Ilha ftiful island." -.....-- 120-mile East-West Cros2.:_/ at belts Taiwan's mountain ugged east to the western .king through Taroko Gorge, tumble like angel hair and Iles are spangled with wild d-yellow butterflies, and gbirds. aohsiung, where the rcades with building rve their past. In the 's office, a restored temples.

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I toured the magnificen Museum, tucked in the Taipei, home to the world's of Chinese art: 600,000 m~ fac back as ten centuries be a trove that museum offi ' change the entire display ev not repeat themselves for 30 So it was an added pleas prosperity and freedom ar wan's treasures too. But I know better than ~ treasures came to Taiwan of the biggest costs is the losi 1953 farmers made up 56 p force. Today the figure is and falling. Industrial gro tion have gobbled up farml 6,000 acres a year. And Ii

30 Taiwan: The Other China .,,

trade policies have allowed domestic markets to be flooded with almost six billion dollars' worth of agricultural imports a year, nearly half Taiwan's total food supply. To learn what this meant in human terms, I visited the family farm of my friend, journalist "Whatever I do is Antonio Chiang, in the mountains above the meant to create a soci­ central city of Fengyuan. For 40 years Tony's ety full of love," says family struggled to clear 132 hardscrabble the revered Buddhist acres and plant them with peaches, plums, ....!!l!!1 Cheng Yen (bot­ oranges, and litchis. Tony led me up a trail tom), performing a rit­ through his orchards. The air was clean, cool ual at her Hualien temple. She guides 'the with the tang of wild plum. To the east, a charitable foundation mountain ridge rolled like a dragon's back into she created in 1966, the interior wilderness. Far to the west, which today has some beyond the urban coastal plain, the Taiwan three million members Strait was covered with a mauve and yellow and raises 12 million smog. Tony gestured to the plain below us. dollars a year for "Once upon a time much of that was farm­ domestic and interna­ land,'' he said with regret. "When I was a tional relief. child, we kept up to ten workers on the job Pilgrims come to day and night just picking litchis here. I was her temple from all up at 4 a. m., pushing huge cartloads of them to over Taiwan and abroad, setting out market. When I was seven, I worked our low­ along a nearby road land rice fields with my father." Tony plucked before dawn. Led by an unripe plum, bit into it, and made a sour volunteers who direct face. "We live a different life today," he said, traffic around them, hurling the plum into a ravine. they ~to_!Y every Over tea in the family's tidy red-brick three steps to cultivate house, Chiang Chin-huo, Tony's 73-year-old humility. At their des­ father, reflected on the changing years. "No tination they join one wants to work a mountain farm today," Q!eQ,_g Yen in prayer. he said sadly. "They want to work in the fac­ tories, earn money, live in cities." That night, on the bus back to Taipei, Tony seemed resigned. "Our economy needs high­ I toured the magnificent National Palace tech industry," he said thoughtfully. "We just Museum, tucked in the mountains outside don't have much land. The farmer must be Taipei, home to the world's greatest collection sacrificed." He gazed out the window at the of Chinese art: 600,000 masterworks dating as lights of industry flashing by in the darkness. far back as ten centuries before Christ- such "There is no other way." a trove that museum officials say they can change the entire display every six months and HE MOST TANGIBLE COST of not repeat themselves for 30 years. modernization is environmen­ So it was an added pleasure to discover that tal. From Taiwan's highest prosperity and freedom are now among Tai­ point, the summit of 13,113- wan's treasures too. foot ~ . to theco astal - But I know better than to think these new Tcrags of Lungtung, the landscape looks like treasures came to Taiwan without a cost. One one big fouled nest. "Taiwan is filthy rich," as of the biggest costs is the loss of agriculture. In a Taiwanese friend put it. 1953 farmers made up 56 percent of the labor More than 90,000 factories spew cadmium, \ force. Today the figure is around 13 percent chromium, zinc, and other toxics into Tai­ and falling. Industrial growth and urbaniza­ wan's water. Less than 4 percent of its sewage tion have gobbled up farmland at an estimated is treated. There are 44 contaminated rivers, 6,000 acres a year. And liberal government and, according to a Taiwan Environmental

Taiwan: The Other China Changes Course 31 Protection Agency survey, half its drinking Did the company offer compensation? water comes from polluted sources. "They covered some medical expenses but "In a sense, we've become too prosper­ paid no damages," Chen replied. By then I'd ous," said_Jaw Shau-Kongt then Taiwan's been there perhaps an hour and a half, and my energetic minister of the environment, as he eyes and throat burned from the fumes. Mrs. looked down through the pall of smog from his Chen's eyes filled with tears. office windows high above Taipei. "After you I asked if she was crying. make the money, you've got to spend some on "Nol" she snapped. "My eyes just won't environment. Because your life, your health, stop watering. I'm not sad. I'm angry!" your kids are precious." He sighed. "We've Mrs. Chen died last June. made a start. But can we turn things around fast enough?" ME 200 MILES NORTH ofLinyuan, The southern town of Linyuan will have a the government is trying to clean hard time turning things around. There Tai­ up the human wastes polluting the wan's largest chemical company, Chinese water supply of the more than six Petroleum Corporation, attempts to put a million people crowded in greater good face on pollution by painting its air­ STaipei and along the banks of the Tanshui monitoring stations with fluttering birds and River. To serve them, a massive 154-million­ gamboling sheep. When I visited the plant, the dollar sewer project is under way, but it is at chief engineer showed me a film explaining the least seven years away from completion. Allen company's environmental cleanup efforts. Tsai, adviser to the Taiwan EPA's Water Images of gurgling mountain streams and wild Quality Control Bureau, gave me a glimpse of mountain flowers flickered on the screen. But the enormity of the project. none of them bore any relevance to the reality We visited the power plant, where a dozen of the blighted coast just outside. "Air, water, 3 ,000-horsepower pumps would one day drive noise, and solid-waste pollution control stan­ the system. We sloshed through a dripping wet dards are all higher here now than national tunnel and clambered down into giant con­ standards," the engineer assured me. crete sedimentation tanks that would treat A mile away from Chinese Petroleum I met 31, 000 tons of sewage a day. a married.couple who told a different story. I left Tsai at Tanshui village and took the Chen Feng-fu and his wife, Wang-to, both 59, ~ rry back to Taipei to see the river for myself. were mushroom sellers who lived in the bam­ Its banks were thick with refuse; its waters boo and concrete farmhouse where Chen was greasy with excrement and stinking of sulfur born. Ten years ago, they said, monsoon rains and methane. A bloated dog carcass drifted created an atmospheric condition that caused by. On the far shore putrid smoke wafted from noxious plant emissions to collect along their a smoldering mountain of garbage. Behind it, house's earthen floor. When Mrs. Chen squat­ the lowering sun burned like a rebuke. ted to light a mosquito coil, the air exploded, And then, as we approached the Taipei flash-bµrning her legs and feet. She spent four dock, a flock of snow white egrets swooped out months in a hospital and had hideous pink of nowhere, glided over the ferry, and flashed scars. She suffered from liver cancer, respira­ on down the river- a gleaming splash of tory problems, and other ailments, which her beauty, and a promise, it seemed to me, of doctor blamed on the plant. what could be. And as I climbed the old stone "The air was clean here before Chinese steps back into the city, I pondered the miracle Petroleum came," Chen told me. "It's gotten Taiwan's determined people had achieved worse every year since." since I first visited the island so many years Why didn'tyou move? I asked. ago, and what it had become: China, yes, and Chen shrugged. "No one will buy the house yet Taiwan; Taiwanese, but Chinese too. And because of the pollution," he replied. out of both something new still becoming. D

Masked against air pollution, a young family takes a spin in a Kaohsiung park, choosing the maneuverability and economy of a motor scooter over the comfort and safety of a car. Facing similar trade-offs on a larger scale, Taiwan charges full speed ahead into the industrialized world.

32 National Geographic, November 1993 1any offer compensation? ed some medical expenses but es," Chen replied. By then I'd aps an hour and a half, and my I burned from the fumes. Mrs. ed with tears. Iwas crying. apped. "My eyes just won't 'mnotsad. I'm angry!" ,~ed last June.

' oo MILES NORTH of Linyuan, overnment is trying to clean e human wastes polluting the ~r supply of the more than six ion people crowded in greater ~g the banks of the Tanshui them, a massive 154-million­ t>ject is under way, but it is at away from completion. Allen ~o the Taiwan EPA's Water Bureau, gave me a glimpse of the project. e power plant, where a dozen er pumps would one day drive Joshed through a dripping wet bered down into giant con­ ation tanks that would treat I wage a day. Tanshui village and took the .ipei to see the river for myself. thick with refuse; its waters trement and stinking of sulfur bloated dog carcass drifted ore putrid smoke wafted from 1ountain of garbage. Behind it, burned like a rebuke. we approached the Taipei ~ now white egrets swooped out tied over the ferry, and flashed hver-a gleaming splash of ~promise, . it . seeme d to me, o f ~ nd as I climbed the old stone he city, I pondered the miracle tmined people had achieved ited the island so many years \ t had become: China, yes, and twanese, but Chinese too. And '.ething new still becoming. D in a Kaohsiung park, ooter over the comfort cale, Taiwan charges

l Geographic, November 1993 SEE "THE POWER OF WATER" WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 10, ON PBS TV