Richard Nixon, despite his forced resignation over the Watergate break-in, is the American president who will be remembered in history for having helped thaw the Cold War between the United States and arch foes China and Russia. But the former president, unfortunately, is best remembered for his remark during a debate with John F. Kennedy that “Taiwan is just a bunch of rocks” the US need not waste its time on. The remark was in response to JFK’s view Taiwan must be supported to the hilt as a strategic buffer against China.
Taiwan, now known as the Republic of China, despite protests from the People’s Republic of China, is a thriving, progressive nation of 23-million people. It has become a model for emerging nations in Southeast Asia. Of course, Taiwan won’t be where it is without the profuse military funding support of the US. There is a lesson to be drawn from Taiwan’s long-standing alliance with America. China may rant and rave and talk about retaking Taiwan but Beijing knows it will never happen. The US won’t allow Taiwan to fall to China aside from the fact Taiwan has one of the most modern fleet of fighter jets supplied by the US.
I cannot and will not pretend to be an expert on Taiwan. But having spent three nights and four days in Taipei, I can see why this island, or “bunch of rocks” as Nixon then called it, has developed itself into a powerhouse economy, the 15th most competitive according to global rankings. Taiwan in fact, is one of the biggest foreign investors across the Taiwan Straits, infusing some $150 billion US dollars into China’s economy, according to Wikipedia. The exact amount is a closely guarded secret by Mainland China and Taiwan. It would be embarrassing for Beijing to disclose the huge direct foreign investment from its “renegade province.”
I think it’s safe to say that Taiwan’s progress can be attributed to its people and the brand of leadership that has steered Taiwan into what it is now.
The Taiwanese people, like their cousins in the mainland, are hard-working people. They are a disciplined lot who know the value of hard work and entrepreneurship the Chinese are known for.
Taipei is the very picture of a modern metropolis. Its transports system of efficient public railways, clean buses and thousands of yellow cabs ease commuter pains. Pedestrians do not cross the street even if there are no vehicles in sight. They wait for the traffic light signaling they can already cross the street. The four-lane avenues are wide and the streets are clean with trees planted in the middle island and on both sides giving the city nearly the same environmental green look as Singapore.
But while traffic and public transport in Taiwan are manageable, motorcyclists and scooters run at breakneck speed. Like in Manila, there are daily incidences of motorcycle accidents. Aside from the daily casualties due to motorcycle accidents, Taipei’s sidewalks are dangerous. Although bike lanes have been designated, bikers use the sidewalk and if you are not familiar with this practice , a pedestrian could become a statistic of the city’s daily casualties.
I was last in Taiwan 18 years ago years ago in 1998 together with former Malaya columnist Lito Banayo on a trip for a first hand look at Taiwan’s then still-developing economy. Taiwan today is an island nation with humming factories and foreign reserves currency coming out of its ears. Banayo is the new head of the Manila Economic and Cultural Office in Taipei. He has settled into the job and will surely be generating jobs and investments together with Deputy Antonio Basilio.
There are some 100,000 Filipino workers in Taiwan, mostly in factories and the health and service sector as caregivers to both the elderly and young children whose parents work to fuel Taiwan’s economic engine.
I met some of our “kababayans” at Saint Christopher Church, their gathering place on their day-off on Sundays. St Christopher’s diocese is all-Filipino. Its priest, choir and flock are all Filipinos although there was one Taiwanese Catholic priest who celebrated mass after the Filipino priest.
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There is something to be said of Taiwanese officials. The minister of tourism and the director of public transportation offered to resign in the aftermath of a bus accident wherein 31 students on a field trip were killed because of the bus driver’s negligence.
Compare this to the local bus incident in Tanay, Rizal where 15 students died after the bus lost its brakes and smashed into an electric post. No one is resigning here and the operator of the Panda tour bus company merely accepted all expenses related to the victims’ hospitalization and funeral services. Further investigation showed the Panda bus that figured in the tragic accident was not accredited by the Department of Tourism.
The Commission on Higher Education has suspended all student field trips. These field trips are questionable. At the Greenbelt shopping mall, chartered and point-to-point buses are seen parked daily in front of the mall entrance. What in heaven’s name can young students learn from a trip to a shopping mall? These kind of field trips can only inculcate consumer spending among young people. Do teachers accompanying these students get a commission from the various shops in the mall?
