Taiwan Today

The beauty of Taiwan’s east coast first became known internationally in the mid-16th century, when Portuguese sailors passing by the area were sufficiently fascinated with the stunning natural landscape to exclaim “Ilha Formosa,” which translates into English as “Beautiful Island.” Over time, due to eastern Taiwan’s relative remoteness, rough landscape and slow industrial development, Hualien and Taitung counties have been able to preserve many of their natural resources, which include clean beaches, expansive protected areas rich in flora and fauna, fertile farmland and magnificent mountain scenery. As a result, weary urbanites seeking to escape the rigors and stresses of life in crowded cities have long viewed Hualien and Taitung as ideal retreats.

Those who actually live on the east coast, on the other hand, are more concerned with the region’s lack of development, which has resulted in social problems such as unemployment and poverty. Those problems are significant, as according to tallies compiled by the Cabinet-level Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics, average annual disposable income per household in Taitung County reached just NT$607,872 (US$20,600) in 2011. That figure was the lowest among the 20 cities and counties surveyed for the year. By comparison, Taipei City had the highest at NT$1,251,519 (US$42,480).

The central and local governments have long worked to improve living standards on the east coast, but the effort has been hindered by the region’s rugged geography, high environmental sensitivity, less-developed transportation system and relatively small population. Kuo Fei-yu (郭翡玉) is acting director-general of the Department of Urban and Housing Development at the Council for Economic Planning and Development (CEPD). Kuo notes that since 2006, the central government has set aside around NT$10 billion (US$333 million) annually for eastern Taiwan, with most of the funding used to improve transportation infrastructure and provide cost-of-living subsidies to low-income households.

Despite such assistance, Taitung County Magistrate Justin Huang (黃健庭) says that stubborn social problems remain, as Taitung has Taiwan’s highest percentage of low-income residents, highest percentage of those with a disability and shortest average life expectancy. “Our economy has long been in a difficult situation due to the county’s remote location and inadequate transportation systems, which hinder industrial development and thus lead to an outflow of young adults,” Huang says. “Nevertheless, we possess a number of distinguishing features such as a beautiful natural environment, abundant supply of agricultural and fishery products, and cultural diversity due to the presence of seven aboriginal tribes. The challenge lies in how to utilize those resources properly to promote tourism.”

Hualien County is confronted by similar problems. “There has been a considerable developmental gap between Taiwan’s west and east coasts,” Hualien County Magistrate Fu Kun-chi (傅崐萁) says. “Our county has to struggle with isolation due to the lack of a convenient, efficient transportation network. As a result, Hualien’s development has lagged behind that of many cities and counties in the western part of the island for at least 30 years.”

The central government’s focus on eastern Taiwan sharpened in June 2011 when the Legislative Yuan passed the Hualien-Taitung Area Development Act. Under the act, which took effect at the end of that month, an additional NT$40 billion (US$1.3 billion) will be allocated over a 10-year period to improve living standards by enhancing social welfare programs, promoting industrial development and safeguarding natural resources.

In March 2012, the Executive Yuan established a special task force to provide input on a strategic development plan for Hualien and Taitung. The task force comprises representatives from academia, the central and local governments, industry and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs). The CEPD was responsible for incorporating the task force’s input and drafting the final plan, which was released in September 2012, and is now charged with allocating the funds set aside under the development act.

Funding will be distributed through direct financing, investment and subsidization schemes. Under the first two approaches, the council plans to make low-interest loans and credit guarantees to microenterprises, as well as invest in local businesses. As for subsidies, in late 2012 the governments of Hualien and Taitung counties submitted proposals for a number of projects implementing the strategic development plan and sent them to the CEPD. The council is now working with other government agencies to review the projects and will provide funding to those approved.

The strategic development plan focuses on promoting five economic sectors that show high growth potential: the cultural and creative industry, marine biotechnology, organic farming, recreation and tourism. Kuo says those fields were selected to capitalize on the east coast’s human and natural resources. To cultivate talent in the five sectors, the CEPD will work closely with the Council of Agriculture, Council of Labor Affairs and Ministry of Education to offer vocational training to east coast residents.

The plan is designed to have both an immediate and a long-term impact. Kuo says the initiative is aimed at establishing a solid economic foundation that will encourage private investors to follow suit, as a combination of public and private funding will be needed to ensure the continuous development of eastern Taiwan.

While all projects carried out under the strategic plan will be subject to comprehensive environmental assessments, Kuo says development is a major goal. “Hualien and Taitung have retained much of their natural beauty, which is the main draw for visitors from around the nation and the world,” she says. “We have to continue protecting their scenic landscapes, but it’s equally important to create job opportunities for locals to maintain their livelihoods, and that requires industrial development.”

Fu and Huang echo Kuo’s views with pledges to seek a balance between economic development and environmental protection. Fu says his administration applies very strict environmental criteria when planning local development and places tight pollution controls on companies operating in Hualien County. Likewise, Huang says Taitung enacted a self-governance ordinance in 2012 designed to protect the county’s natural landscape and built environment from “inappropriate” development. “We fully understand that the [natural] environment is our primary attraction. We’ll lose our competitive edge if we fail to protect it,” he says. “But if we don’t carry out any development at all, we’re likely to remain poor and backward, which means we’ll continue to suffer a brain drain due to the lack of jobs.”

Toby Tsai (蔡中岳), manager of the Eastern Taiwan Office of Citizen of the Earth, an NGO dedicated to environmental protection, lauds the CEPD plan’s emphasis on environmental sustainability, but notes that many locals remain concerned about the plan’s impact. Tsai cautions that the east coast should be developed by making use of what the region already has—such as its agricultural areas, indigenous villages and natural, healthy environment—rather than by building large infrastructure projects.

Area residents are also concerned about who will benefit from development, Tsai says. “The development projects must help local communities and groups grow in ways that expand local economic opportunities and create jobs on a comprehensive scale, instead of helping a few outside business conglomerates make a profit,” he says.

To act on such concerns, Tsai’s organization has teamed up with more than 10 other local NGOs and representatives of indigenous tribes to form an alliance that monitors development proposals put forward by the Hualien and Taitung county governments. When necessary, the alliance presents its views and alternative suggestions to the central and local governments. “We’ll continue to play an active role in local development efforts by organizing seminars and political lobbying, as it’s our belief that the environment and economy can coexist,” he says.

The issue of inadequate transportation comes to the forefront of virtually every discussion about the development of Taiwan’s east coast. The country’s west coast is served by a high-speed railway, several expressways and two main freeways, for example, while ground transportation in Hualien and Taitung is limited to smaller highways and slower rail services. Steep mountain slopes and limited flat land are the biggest obstacles to improving transportation links on the east coast, but the region’s relatively low population and lack of industrialization also give rise to the question of cost versus benefits when large infrastructure projects are considered.

Some progress has been made in recent years, however, toward improving transportation in eastern Taiwan. In 2011, for example, the Ministry of Transportation and Communications began a project to improve the 118-kilometer Suhua Highway, which connects Su-ao Township in Yilan County, northeastern Taiwan with Hualien City. The east coast’s earthquakes and strong typhoons make sections of the highway that traverse steep slopes prone to landslides and subsidence. The new project therefore focuses on constructing bridges and tunnels that will route traffic away from such hazardous areas. The project is scheduled for completion in 2017 and is expected to increase driver safety and reduce driving time between Su-ao and Hualien from 2 hours and 30 minutes to 1 hour and 30 minutes.

Several projects have also been launched to modernize sections of existing rail lines and build commuter lines connecting urban and outlying areas. Construction and electrification of 155 kilometers of double-track railway between Hualien and Taitung began in 2008 and is expected to be completed by the end of this year. Another project to electrify the line linking Taitung and Chaozhou Township in Pingtung County at Taiwan’s southern tip is scheduled to start in 2014. The upgraded line is expected to begin operating in 2017 and will provide another boost for Taitung’s tourism industry, Huang says.

Faster Trains

Meanwhile, in February this year the Taiwan Railways Administration launched a new express service to the east coast. The trains were built in Japan and tilt as they pass through curves, which allows them to maintain higher speed, although they are not nearly as fast as the bullet trains on Taiwan’s west coast. The new trains were dubbed Puyuma, the name of an east coast indigenous tribe, after the moniker was selected via a public contest. Sixteen Puyuma train cars now serve the route between Taipei and Hualien; 120 more are scheduled for delivery later this year. The Puyuma trains expand the service first offered in 2007 by the Taroko Express, which also features Japanese-built tilting carriages. While conventional passenger trains take more than three hours to travel from Taipei to Hualien, the tilting trains are capable of cutting almost one hour off that time. Passengers continuing on to Taitung will also enjoy reduced travel time when Puyuma service is extended to that city in early 2014. Rail capacity is expected to increase by 23 percent from Taipei to Hualien, and by 100 percent between Hualien and Taitung, when all of the Puyuma trains are up and running.

Along with participating in programs backed by the central government, Hualien and Taitung have launched their own initiatives to address local issues. Over the past three years, Fu says he has focused on improving Hualien’s education and health care. Education measures implemented during that span include eliminating all tuition and other fees for elementary and junior high school students and providing free school lunches. In the area of health care, the county has launched a tuberculosis prevention and control program and made free physical exams available to residents above the age of 55.

In terms of economic development, Fu says Hualien has focused on promoting organic farming, deep sea water products and tourism. The industries were selected to take advantage of the county’s relatively pristine land and water, while tourism attractions also include a beautiful coastline, hot springs, indigenous culture, mountain ranges, music and dance festivals, and Taroko National Park, which has gained an international reputation for its spectacular canyon views.

The county government began facilitating the development of a new part of the tourism industry in 2011, when Fu’s administration helped bring local tour operators and medical institutions together to set up the Hualien International Medical Tourism Association. The association serves as a one-stop service window that provides information on local medical services and processes the applications of interested visitors. “We focus on aesthetic medicine, health screening, rehabilitation and wellness care,” Fu says. “We’re confident that the county’s quality medical services and agreeable environment will lead to the development of a strong medical tourism industry.” Hualien served some 18,000 medical tourists in 2011 and 2012 and expects that number to climb in the future as more visitors from mainland China venture to Taiwan.

Huang says Taitung County Government’s economic development efforts to date have focused on promoting recreational tourism by offering events for cyclists, divers, runners, surfers and hot air balloonists. The Taiwan International Balloon Fiesta held in summer 2012, for example, attracted some 880,000 tourists and created an economic value of NT$1.3 billion (US$43 million).

Cooperative Effort

In the long term, most experts believe that more economic development is the only way to improve living standards in eastern Taiwan. Wang Hong-jin (王鴻濬) is a professor in the Department of Public Administration at National Dong Hwa University in Hualien and a member of the task force providing input on the strategic development plan. In Wang’s view, the area’s biggest problem is its lack of job opportunities, as relatively few small and medium-sized enterprises operate in Hualien and Taitung. The best way to develop the local economy is to promote business and community organizations that are owned and managed by people who work cooperatively to realize mutual benefits, he says, adding that different types of cooperative enterprises could be set up to take advantage of eastern Taiwan’s agricultural resources, diverse cultures, rural landscapes and traditional crafts. In the field of agriculture, the mainstay of the region’s economy, for example, Wang proposes that the focus be expanded to include cooperatives that process agricultural products and operate agritourism businesses. Such an expansion would substantially improve the agriculture sector’s productivity, lift incomes and create jobs for rural residents, he says.

Wang’s proposal to create and develop cooperative enterprises and networks was recently approved by the CEPD and received an initial grant. The professor’s team will provide education, training and technical assistance to individuals and groups that form such enterprises. “Worker cooperatives are an effective business-creation support scheme that can generate and maintain sustainable jobs,” he says. “Our aim is to empower local people to establish and manage their own businesses and share profits equally. That will help them escape poverty and build vibrant rural communities.”

Problems resulting from the slow pace of development on the east coast are particularly acute in the area’s historically disadvantaged aboriginal communities. About 35 percent of Taitung’s population is composed of indigenous residents, the highest percentage of any county in Taiwan, followed by Hualien’s 27 percent.

Like many children of indigenous families in Taitung, Lin Xiu-hui (林秀慧) spent part of her childhood moving between cities in northern Taiwan, as the lack of jobs on the east coast forced her father, a member of the Paiwan tribe, to look for work in other parts of the country. Lin’s father, who struggled with spotty employment, low wages and alcoholism when he was older, died when she was 20 years old. “My father’s death prompted me to think about what I wanted to do and about my ethnic identity—who I am and where I come from,” Lin recalls. “I tried to hide my ethnicity when I was in school because I experienced discrimination against aborigines. But when my father died, I felt the urge to learn more about my own culture and do something for my tribespeople.”

Lin, now a 42-year-old product designer, returned to Taitung when she was 28 to study Paiwan culture, history and traditions as well as engage in community empowerment projects. She established a workshop in 2004 to provide training for local women in the skills necessary for producing traditional handicrafts such as glass bead ornaments and embroidered goods.

“About 14 years have passed since I came back to Taitung and I’ve seen some improvements in local living conditions. Still, jobs are scarce,” Lin says. “It’s my hope that the government can provide more resources to help us develop businesses based on our cultural characteristics so that people here can find employment and live a stable life.”

Cultural Assets

Lee Ji-shun (李季順), who currently manages the Crossing the Rainbow Bridge guesthouse in Hualien County, is a member of the Truku tribe. The retired high school principal says Hualien’s large aboriginal population, which is composed primarily of members of the Amis, Bunun, Kavalan, Sakizaya and Truku tribes, constitutes one of Hualien’s most distinctive features. “The government should make greater efforts to preserve and promote indigenous cultures in Hualien and Taitung,” Lee says. “These cultural assets can become unique selling points, not just for the region, but for the whole nation. Promoting indigenous culture could generate big economic benefits, including jobs.”

One feasible way to strengthen indigenous culture would be establishing schools that teach important traditional customs and skills to younger tribespeople, Lee says. Such schools could then turn that cultural background into an economic advantage by providing vocation-oriented courses in hospitality and tourism, information and communications technology, marketing and performing arts. “The regular education system can foster an optimal learning environment for indigenous youths to obtain the knowledge and skills they need to promote their culture and make a living,” Lee says. “I believe that these talented youths could become a strong force driving local community development over the long term.”

Lee feels fortunate to be among the relatively few members of his tribe to have found rewarding work in the mainstream economy and would like to see others get the same opportunity. “It’s great that the government is paying increased attention to the development of eastern Taiwan by offering more financial and technical support,” he says. “With these assistance projects underway, I am hopeful that more local tribespeople will be able to remain in Hualien, find employment and live a good life.”

Write to Kelly Her at kher@mofa.gov.tw