First Impressions



1991


A casual look at a map suggests that Taiwan may be about one-tenth the size of Papua New Guinea. Yet it contains about seven times as many people (about 20 million, they say). Still, I wouldn't say that it is overcrowded. There are plenty of rural areas, particular in the mountains and the east coast.


The road system is good. One can drive around the island in about 15 hours, I would guess. A train circuit can also be done and much more cheaply. The national bus system is as good as any I've seen and the bus is the main mode of intercity transport. Local transport is mainly by motor scooter and cycles, which there are too many to count.


At first glance, the downtown areas seem like rows of two-wheeled motor vehicle sales or repair shops, with these vehicles on the sidewalks in the streets and walkways -- everywhere. One soon realizes, however, that these are the "parking facilities." The parking laws relating to cycles are not ordinarily enforced. There's not much respect here for formal law of any kind. But legislators and the police do not ordinarily expect or demand respect, except in emergencies. Yet there is a Hayekian order of the first rank. The prevailing norm appears to be that everyone can push a bit but not too much. Something like how people act when leaving a crowded sports stadium in Western countries.


It is a beautiful country, as I discovered on my trip around the island at Christmas, 1991. The west coast high-speed thruway is more dangerous and, according to a recent newspaper article, Taiwan leads the world in deaths per highway mile. But part of the reason for this may be the seemingly infinite number of motorbikes on the crowded city streets. There are no private highways in Taiwan and all the roads along the highly developed and populated west coast are underpriced. Huge and relatively unpredictable traffic jams are chronic around the Taipei area, in other major cities, and along the west coast thruway.


The environment in my area has been pretty lousy. Air pollution around the cities is a serious problem, due to heavy industry and the numerous motor vehicles.


The mountains are somewhat more developed than the beaches because they allow people to escape the summer heat. Still there seem to be some great hiking trails. Most of the mountain land, which runs lengthwise from the north to the south of the island is set aside by the government, partly to preserve the aboriginal lifestyle. I am not clear on the other parts, although the military uses some of the space. The government seems to own and regulate most of the uninhabited land. The mountains give Taiwanese good weekend summer vacations. There appears to be a lot of resort potential in the mountains. With an improved transportation system, I suspect that people would move there and commute into the cities to work. Some do that now but they are exceptional.



Copyright © 1996 by James Patrick Gunning





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J. Patrick Gunning
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