Taiwan vs. Dubai

Taiwan vs. Dubai
United Daily News editorial
translated by Bevin Chu
April 17, 2007

Comment: The following United Daily News editorial notes that:

Taiwan's political dilemma is not something that land reclamation benefiting a handful of industries can resolve. What is needed is a return to the basics, rebuilding and enhancing Taiwan's economic and trade role. Taiwan's advantages over Dubai are legion. But Dubai can, while Taiwan cannot. Taiwan's rulers have despoiled Taiwan, betrayed Taiwan, and destroyed Taiwan.

Fair enough. But why is it Dubai can, while Taiwan cannot?

Dubai can, while Taiwan cannot, believe it or not, because of the distinction between the "Republic of China" and "Taiwan."

Political control of the Taiwan region of the Republic of China fell into the lap of the Taiwan independence nomenklatura 19 years ago, when Taiwan independence wolf in Republic of China sheep's clothing Lee Teng-hui ascended to the throne.

During this time the Taiwan independence nomenklatura has been struggling mightily to transform the Taiwan region of the Republic of China into a "Republic of Taiwan" or "Nation of Taiwan."

More to the point, it has been struggling mightily to transform the Chinese people in the Taiwan region of the Republic of China into "Taiwanese, not Chinese."

In order to transform the Chinese people in the Taiwan region of the Republic of China into "Taiwanese, not Chinese" however, the Taiwan independence nomenklatura must first eradicate the "China" in the "Republic of China."

The Taiwan independence nomenklatura can eradicate the "China" in the "Republic of China" only by fostering an artificially engineered "Taiwanese, not Chinese" ethnic identity and national consciousness.

It can foster an artificially engineered "Taiwanese, not Chinese" ethnic identity and national consciousness only by imposing a "ben tu" Taiwanese form of apartheid upon the Chinese people on Taiwan, forcibly segregating them from their fellow countrymen on the Chinese mainland.

Hence, the Taiwan independence nomenklatura's vehement opposition to "Three Links" between Taiwan and the Chinese mainland.

If you have been bewildered by the Taiwan independence nomenklatura's irrational opposition to close contact between the Chinese people on Taiwan and the Chinese people on the mainland, then scratch your head no more. That is the reason why.

The Taiwan independence nomenklatura is terrified that close contact will enable 23 million Chinese on Taiwan to reawaken to the fact that they are indeed Chinese, that they are indeed the compatriots of 1.3 billion Chinese merely 80 miles across the Taiwan Straits.

The heavy economic price of this forced segregation of course, is the Taiwan region's economic marginalization.

Why is it Dubai can, while Taiwan cannot?

Dubai can because Dubai is focused on economic development. Taiwan cannot because the Taiwan independence nomenklatura which has hijacked the Chinese people on Taiwan is obsessed with creating an artificial and ahistorical "Taiwanese, not Chinese" identity.

Dubai can, while Taiwan cannot, because of the seemingly trivial, but in fact life and death distinction between the "Republic of China" and "Taiwan."


Dubai's Burj al-Arab, the world's only "Seven Star Hotel"


Palm Island, Dubai


Dubai City Skyline


Passenger Terminal, Dubai International Airport

Taiwan vs. Dubai
United Daily News editorial
translated by Bevin Chu
April 17, 2007

The world is witness to Dubai's technological advances, including its land reclamation projects. This article compares and contrasts Taiwan's land reclamation projects with Dubai's.

For years the Executive Yuan has been promoting the Formosa Petrochemical and Kuokuang Petrochemical land reclamation projects. The total investment now exceeds six billion NT, and the projects are expected to create 2,700 hectares of land off the coast of Yunlin County. Because they will consume huge amounts of energy and water, they have been challenged on environmental grounds. By contrast, the tiny country of Dubai, located in the Persian Gulf, has been using land reclamation projects to promote economic reform and development since the 1980s. Compared to Taiwan, Dubai's ability to see the big picture and bring its plans to fruition, is like the difference between night and day.

Dubai's strategy for development is to reverse its excessive reliance on the fragile petroleum economy. Dubai began by developing the world's largest man made harbor at Jebel Ali, by establishing a free trade zone, and by offering tax benefits to attract foreign capital. Dubai has since become the trade, financial, and shipping center for the Middle East. Last year Dubai International Airport passenger throughput approached 29 million. In 2000 Dubai began developing tourism, digging canals, erecting "seven star" hotels such as the Burj al-Arab, creating man-made islands such as Palm Island and The World archipelago, replete with shopping centers, theme parks, hundreds of hotels, as well as 20,000 apartments and mansions.

Dubai's land area is 380 square kilometers. Years of land reclamation have increased the nation's territory by 30 square kilometers. Dubai has established an academic city, a music city, a media city, a network city, a medical city, a golf course, and an indoor ski slope. It is building Dubailand, a theme park twice as big as Disney World, currently the world's largest theme park. Dubai is transforming barren desert into a "Pearl of the Middle East." The rich and famous of Europe and America are rushing to buy Dubai real estate. Two years ago Dubai held an advance auction of space in the Burj Dubai, the world's tallest building. Every space was sold within two days.

Over 30 years ago, in order to develop basic industries, Taiwan began the work of land reclamation. The government acquired 20,000 hectares of shoals in Changhua and Yunlin via eminent domain. As of today, it has reclaimed over 4000 hectares, including a Formosa Petrochemical Company plant site. The scale of the project and the difficulty of construction exceeded those encountered in Dubai. Moreover construction was handled entirely by domestic contractors, unlike Dubai, which relied on outsider expertise.

The biggest difference between Taiwan and Dubai was that Dubai used land reclamation primarily to develop tertiary sector industry, whereas Taiwan used it to develop secondary sector industry. Viewed from the perspective of industrial evolution, nations only invest in steel manufacturing and petrochemical industries while they are making the transition from labor intensive industries to capital intensive industries. Taiwan began developing capital intensive industries as early as the mid 1970s. It completed the China Steel Corporation, the China Petroleum Corporation, Formosa Petrochemical Corporation and other major projects one after the other. But time flies. Thirty years later, Taiwan's economy is spinning its wheels.

With the economy in recession, any major investment in Taiwan is going to be about political selling points, particularly when the investments are unprecedented in scale, as they are with Taiwan Steel and Kuokuang Petrochemical. The Chen Shiu-bian government and the Su cabinet use such projects to pad their personal resumes. Does Taiwan really have no alternative? Today, 30 years later, Taiwan is still investing in high consumption, high pollution heavy industries. Taiwan's current rulers clearly have no new ideas. The Taiwan Steel project alone will increase the production of carbon dioxide green-house gases by 2.5%, increase the burden on the environment, and defy global trends.

During the 1970s, Dubai's first highway leading to Saudi Arabia was built by the Republic of China's Retired Servicemen Engineering Agency (RSEA). During the early stages of its transformation, Dubai dispatched officials to learn from our experts. Circumstances change over time. Dubai, despite being situated in the Middle East powder keg, has created an Arabian Nights miracle. Today income from petroleum constitutes less than 6% of Dubai's GDP. By contrast, Taiwan's industrial evolution remains stagnant. Taiwan does not necessarily need to imitate Dubai. But from the standpoint of the nation's economic development, it needs an even more diversified, more capital intensive, more farsighted economic policy. Only such a policy can rescue Taiwan from gradual marginalization. We are not saying that Taiwan should develop artificial tourist islands. We are saying that Taiwan should emulate Dubai's willingness to see the big picture.

Compared to Dubai, Taiwan has every advantage: abundant human resources, favorable geography, beautiful scenery, and a solid industrial foundation. But although both have been practicing land reclamation, Dubai has abandoned religious fanaticism, implemented reforms and liberalization, and changed Dubai's international role and international image. Taiwan's land reclamation by contrast, has benefited only a handful of high consumption, high pollution industries. This is a case of inferior judgment, inferior wisdom, and inferior circumstances.

Taiwan's political dilemma is not something that land reclamation benefiting a handful of industries can resolve. What is needed is a return to the basics, rebuilding and enhancing Taiwan's economic and trade role. Taiwan's advantages over Dubai are legion. But Dubai can, while Taiwan cannot. Taiwan's rulers have despoiled Taiwan, betrayed Taiwan, and destroyed Taiwan.

Original Chinese below:

填海造地：台灣與杜拜有何不同？
社論

拜工程技術進步之賜，舉世皆見填海造地。本文欲比較台灣填海造地與杜拜填海造地有何不同？

行政院全力推動延宕多年的台塑鋼鐵和國光石化兩項重大工程，總投資額超過六千億元，預定在雲林填海造地兩千七百公頃，因須耗用龐大能源和水資源，在環境評估上頗受質疑；與此對照，位於波斯灣的小國杜拜，自上世紀八○年代起，也運用填海造地工程，推動經濟轉型建設，其思考的高度與實現的政經綜效，卻與台灣有天淵之別。

杜拜的發展策略是以扭轉過度依賴石油的脆弱經濟為基調，從開挖世界最大人工港傑貝阿里起步，成立自由貿易區、提供免稅優惠吸引外資，如今已成為中東的貿易、金融和航運中心，去年杜拜機場過境的旅客已近兩千九百萬人次。二○○○ 年後，杜拜又開始大力發展觀光業，構築運河、興建七星級帆船飯店、開闢棕櫚島和世界群島等人造島，島上規畫購物中心、主題樂園、上百間飯店，以及兩萬多間公寓和豪宅。

杜拜面積三百八十平方公里，經過多年向海爭地，至今國土已增加三十餘平方公里；成立了大學城、音樂城、媒體城、網路城、醫療城、高爾夫球場和室內滑雪場，以及比世界最大的美國佛羅里達州迪士尼樂園還大兩倍的杜拜島樂園；將荒蕪的沙漠打造成充滿魔幻的「中東明珠」，歐美富豪爭相到杜拜置產，兩年多前世界第一高樓杜拜塔開盤預售，不到兩天就被搶購一空。

台灣為了發展基礎重化工業，早在三十多年前就開始填海造地工程，政府相繼在彰化、雲林徵收兩萬餘公頃淺灘填海，至今已完成包括台塑六輕建廠用地在內的四千多公頃新生地，規模和工程難度較杜拜尤有過之，而且全由國人包辦，不似杜拜要借助外力。

相對而言，台灣和杜拜造地的最大差異，在於杜拜用以發展第三產業為主，台灣卻全用於建設第二產業。就產業演化角度來看，當國家由勞力密集產業邁入資本密集階段，才會以投資煉鋼、石化等基礎工業為主。台灣早在民國六十年代中期就開始發展資本密集產業，陸續完成了中鋼、中油五輕、台塑六輕等多項大案子。但是，光陰似箭，日月如梭，三十年後台灣經濟竟仍停滯在這個階段打轉。

景氣低迷，任何重大投資在台灣都是政治賣點，何況台鋼和國光石化投資規模空前，更被政績乏善可陳的蘇內閣，視為提升個人施政滿意度的法寶；但是，台灣的經濟發展難道沒有其他選擇嗎？三十多年後的今天，台灣還要繼續推動高耗能、高汙染的重工業投資，畢竟缺乏新意；何況僅台鋼一項投資，即會使台灣的二氧化碳溫室效應氣體排放量增加百分之二點五，加重環境負荷，且有違國際潮流。

其實，一九七○年代杜拜第一條通往沙烏地阿拉伯的高速公路，正是由我榮工處所建，其轉型之初，還曾派員來台取經；時過境遷，杜拜在有世界軍火庫之稱的中東，締造了天方夜譚般的奇蹟，如今石油收入占其ＧＤＰ比重已不足百分之六。相對而言，台灣的產業進化卻仍停滯不前。台灣不一定要學杜拜，但站在國家政經發展的高度，卻比杜拜需要更多元、層次更高的產業，及更宏觀的經濟政策，才能使台灣從國際政經角色日趨邊緣化的危機中脫困。我們並非主張台灣也可開發人造觀光島，但台灣應學杜拜的思考高度。

和杜拜相比，台灣人才多、地緣佳、有青山綠水、有產業基礎……，樣樣都比杜拜強。但是，平平都是填海造地，杜拜拋開了激烈的宗教主義，改革開放，以填海造地改變了整個國家的世界角色與國際形象；台灣填海造地卻只是增加幾家高耗能、重汙染的企業而已。這是眼光不如人，智慧不如人，亦是境界不如人！

台灣的政經困境，絕不是填海造地增加幾家企業所能解決；而是要從根本處重建並提升台灣的國際經貿角色與機能。台灣的條件強過杜拜甚多，但杜拜能，台灣卻不能。台灣的主政者難道不是糟蹋了台灣，辜負了台灣，且正在毀滅台灣？