If you are in a small town in America and you hear a truck approaching your building or house with the sound of Beethoven's "To Alice" - children will start jumping for joy, and parents will start grabbing their wallets. Ice cream is coming! In Taipei, the capital of Taiwan, you can run into similar trucks, maybe a little bigger, broadcasting the same Beethoven composition. However, here parents are looking forward to them, not children, because instead of ice cream, they come with large containers to pick up trash.
Thus, with the sounds of Beethoven, the residents of this city with eight million inhabitants zealously descend in front of their entrances and, with the assistance of local sanitation workers, sort the waste and load it into trucks. So that the garbage can be completely recycled. Near Taipei is one of the numerous factories of this kind, specialized in recycling displays and all kinds of screens, which are then made from - bricks. Much more practical and better quality than traditional ones - they are twice as light and fire resistant! In Taiwan, they proudly call it Hi-Tech. High technologies in everything, industry, communications, IT sector, environmental protection, agriculture... and even culture.
In Taichung, the second largest city in Taiwan, with 2,8 million inhabitants, a few years ago a magnificent Opera and Theater building was completed, which is heated and cooled by energy drawn from the ground. In Germany it is called a smart house. The building was designed by one of the world's greatest designers and architects for acoustic spaces, the Japanese Toyota. The facade was designed in the shape of a wine bottle because the author's idea was to show how art should be enjoyed like wine. And that there is truth in art - as in wine (In vino veritas). The project - a real little miracle of design, architecture and physics - was built for almost 10 years and cost 50 million dollars due to its complexity. So now compare.
Cult of knowledge and improvement
Taiwan is the 137th largest country in the world ranking, and 22nd in terms of economic strength. It is among the top five countries in the world with the lowest mortality rate - the average life expectancy for men is 77, and for women 83 years. This is the land of HTC and Asus, the world's largest producer of computer components, fiberglass suits or personal navigation devices. In many similar products, they are the second largest in the world. In addition, through the HSR high-speed rail network, their trains cruise imperceptibly at 300 per hour, so from Taipei in the north to Kaohsiung in the south, which is the same distance as between Podgorica and Belgrade, passengers arrive in an hour and 35 minutes! So now compare.
All of the above and much more in which Taiwan excels is the result of one of the best education systems in the world. The cult of knowledge and improvement is cultivated here, so that every year the Government invests almost 21 percent of the budget, or an incredible 15 billion euros, in education and culture. It is similar with health care - every resident is covered by insurance, the largest clinics are state-owned, but there are also private ones, the annual budget for health care is close to 20 billion euros or 23,9 percent of the total funds that the state disposes of annually. So now compare!
Where do we live - is a question that arises every day in Taiwan as you listen and read about the level and strategy of their development. For example, Taiwan is also Hi-Tech in agriculture. The first cherry tomatoes were produced on this small island, the most orchids are exported from there all over the world, and the most expensive ornamental gamboris for aquariums are produced there, from which "Galaxy Fishbone" comes out to 10 thousand US dollars. One piece! In agriculture, they learned from the best - the Dutch and the Canadians. Now they even sell their knowledge in that field all over the planet, even to the most developed countries. In Kaohsiung, a city in the south and the largest port of Taiwan, otherwise a tropical part of the island with a divine climate, there has been an IT company Brogent for ten years.
It is the first Asian company (as a reminder, Asia is a market of over 3 billion inhabitants with the fastest GDP growth rate in the last ten years) that managed to develop software that was sold to technologically highly developed Western countries. Canada, America, Germany, they all already have the famous virtual "Sightseeng" - in a smaller cinema hall, tied in seats like those from Formula 1, in 5 minutes and a few seconds you visit all the sights of a city or country in an adventure that leaves you breathless .
Perhaps the people who run Brogent managed to do this thanks to the fact that in the same city, as children and students, later academic students, they could improve in the library across the street - a magnificent building of seven floors (two are underground) that cost 60 million dollars and which has seven million library units, the most modern digital equipment for video content and the most magical reading forest for preschoolers. What a monument to knowledge and reading! So you compare.
Taiwan is not Thailand
I hope you also understood that Taiwan is not Thailand. Some colleagues and friends, when I announced my trip to Taiwan, often greeted me with remarks about how I would enjoy the sandy beaches. This is not Thailand! And it doesn't look like us or the land of Montenegrin brother Šinavatra. So, whoever is up for rest, swimming, nightlife - let him think about Thailand.
Who knows, technology, investment - let him extend it to Taiwan. Because one of the biggest connections between European metropolises and Taipei is exactly Bangkok, where planes land to take on fuel and a few new passengers before continuing another 3-hour flight to the capital of the Republic of China. But I will not yet clear up the confusion brought to you by the mentioned fact - that the capital of the Republic of China is not Beijing but Taipei.
Beijing does not believe in tears
Taiwan is an island in the Pacific, in the geographical line with Hong Kong and Guangzhou. It was discovered by the Portuguese in the 23th century and given the name Formosa, or in translation the Wonderful Island. Of the mentioned 95 million inhabitants, 2 percent are Han Chinese, while in the rest of the few ethnic groups, the largest percentage, just over XNUMX percent, is made up of aborigines, who were also the first inhabitants of Formosa before the Dutch conquest in the XNUMXth century... The religion is Buddhism, and language Mandarin Chinese, with several different dialects such as Hoki and Hakka.
The official name of the independent state is the Republic of China. On the other hand, most citizens would get really angry if you told them - this is China. This is not China. Sounds familiar. Officials say they would much rather be called the Republic of Taiwan, as this creates confusion in mixing the names People's Republic of China (Greater China) and Republic of China (Little Taiwan). But Xi Jinping won't even listen. Beijing does not believe in tears. "One-China" is one of the fundamental principles of the international policy of the current government in Beijing, and when China is one, then it is logical to place the island of China (Taiwan) under the umbrella of mainland China (Mainland China).
Sounds familiar again. Imperial. Stronger - hang! But Taiwan does not give in. And he doesn't want to provoke big brother. The official policy is not to irritate China and not divide citizens over the issue of state status. If democracy is developing, the economy is strengthening, the standard of the population is rising, new jobs are being created, and the environment is being protected. Economic growth in the last decade and a half was mostly double-digit, so that they reached the level of GDP per capita, equal to that of Denmark and Austria... Well, you compare.
Revival in just a quarter of a century
Victories, not divisions, Bečić would say. The figures from Taiwan say it all: in 2016, the economic exchange with China, which is doing everything to bring them back under its wing at the political and diplomatic level, amounted to almost 118 billion dollars, although as of yesterday, in 1999, it was only 4,5 billion. Taiwan is one of the biggest investors in China, and every year over 3,5 million Chinese visit the island for tourist purposes.
Of the two leading parties, the liberal DPP and the conservative KMT, the former is strictly sovereignist and is now in power, while the latter is "pro-Chinese", although this does not mean that it would be ready to renounce Taiwan's independence and drown the country in "One-China". concept. I was surprised by the information that the first free and democratic elections in Taiwan were organized in 1996 and that only in 1987 was the ban on political organization lifted and the era of the one-party system ended. So, this entire revival, both in the democratic and economic aspects, was made in the last two and a half decades. At the time of our DPS, that is. So you compare!
In Taiwan, there is a kind of cult of the army, and that is why a lot is invested in its strengthening and modernization. Minister Ho Chang was impressive in her conversation with colleagues from various parts of Europe (plus one charming Syrian with a Japanese passport). She currently heads a special department in charge of relations with mainland China. When asked by a colleague from the UK, what if Beijing moves to defeat and annex you militarily and whether you have thought about developing nuclear weapons for defense purposes, Ho Chang, Taiwan's Steel Lady, bluntly answers: "We don't need nuclear weapons to defend ourselves. We are militarily strong enough to deter anyone from such a scheme. If Mainland China tried that, it would pay a heavy price”!
Mandić, Dodik, the late Karadžić and Martić, could not possibly understand why Taiwanese people do not want to live in the same country as their mother country, and even such a powerful and strong one?! Minister Chang again amazes with her answer: "Democracy, human rights, freedom of speech, these are values that we do not want to lose. It is simply our way of life"! It is also impressive that, during my six-day stay in Taiwan, I heard the same answer from all the inhabitants of the island, whether they were politicians, businessmen, academics, taxi drivers, waiters - democracy is our way of life.
Hence the affection for America and Japan. In the magnificent Grand Hotel, which was built by Chiang Kai-shek 75 years ago, the suite where US President Dwight Eisenhower stayed during his visit to Taipei in 1960 is still maintained in its original condition. On its walls are photos from the reception of the great general and the famous president - not even Tito was greeted like that by the residents of Pyongyang a little later.
Remembering Chiang Kai-shek
When I already mentioned Chiang Kai-shek, that name is very familiar to my generation or older people. That's why, for their sake, but also for younger readers who probably haven't heard of him, here are a few sentences. He was a leader of pre-war China, a nationalist and anti-communist. As such, Chiang Kai-shek led the resistance movement against fascism and the Japanese occupation during World War II. He won that war, but lost the one that followed - the civil one from 1946 to 1949 between the Chinese Nationalists under his leadership and the Communists led by the also legendary Mao Zedong.
After the defeat, Chiang Kai-shek fled to Taiwan and there, with the help of the democratic West, built a serious state. Which he himself named the Republic of China, believing that communism would fall quickly and that he would return to Beijing and become the emperor of one, great and greatest China. But, none of that. Communism in some hybrid form still exists on the mainland, and the people are still in power in Beijing. Shek died in 1975 at the age of 87, as evidenced by the same number of steps descending from the top of his pyramid, which he built during his lifetime as a pharaoh, and which today is called the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall.
Above the monumental bust, in front of which an honor guard stands 24/7, it says - Democracy, science, equality. These were clearly the goals that Shek dreamed of, but which were only achieved by his successors and the new, democratic and free Taiwan. Today, Shek's supporters say that it was such a time and that without a firm hand, Taiwan would not have survived during the Cold War, while the other half of society challenges Shek because of his dictatorship, persecution and liquidation of political opponents.
At the end of this episode about Chiang Kai-shek and an interesting line about Sung Mei Ling, his wife. Photos bear witness to Hollywood beauty, and historians write about her great political influence. However, after the death of her husband in 1975, with the explanation that she no longer wanted to influence the political life and further development of Taiwan, Sung moved to America and remained there for the next three decades, until her death. She lived for 106 years, spanning three centuries, from 1897 to 2003.
Think, speak and act positively
The flag of Taiwan is blue, in the upper right corner is a red square with a white sun. The largest field, blue, symbolizes the most important values: freedom, justice and democracy. The color red is a symbol of brotherhood, sacrifice and patriotism. The white sun is associated with equality, honesty and human life. One flag that tells the whole story of one country, its values and its duration. It is in this spirit that the magnificent Guang Shan Buddha Temple, the largest Buddhist complex in the world, was built near Kaohsiung.
According to the priests, the temple was built in accordance with the Buddha's teachings, the essence of which is the search for balance and harmony in life. "Think positively, speak positively, do positively" - that's the way to that harmony. When asked by a colleague, whether in Buddhism, as in other great religions, Buddha is the creator of the world, one of the missionaries in the temple says: "Buddha is not God, Buddha is a teacher!" To the additional question, who created us, again a clear answer: "No one, we are our own masters and creators"! And finally, a wise lesson: "Everything that happens to us in life, happens for a reason. That's why everything should be accepted with a smile. Laughter is the best language!”
There would be a lot more to write and talk about Taiwan. But let's leave something for another occasion. And this is enough for the conclusion: Taiwan or the Republic of China is another tiger of the Far East. On par with Singapore or Hong Kong. So, a very serious story from which a lot can be learned.
An example from which we can learn
Unlike Montenegro, the political elite in Taiwan is fully committed to environmental protection. In Taiwan, 8 million cars and 13 million motorbikes are driven today - the government's plan is to reduce the emission of harmful gases by an impressive 2025 percent by 30. Today they have 4 nuclear power plants with 6 reactors. Although they have not had any problems with them so far, the government has adopted a plan to turn them all off by 2025, and to cover 20 percent of the country's total electricity needs, which are now provided by these nuclear plants, from renewable sources - sun, wind, biomass ...
Near Kaohsiung, there is a thermal power plant with 4 units - it will also be closed in 4 years, and its current production will be replaced by 200 hectares of solar panel plantations! Half has already been "sown" or will be by the end of 2018, and the rest in the following years. They don't have as many sunny days as we do, but obviously they have more brains than us. It is similar with wind power plants that already produce 2 percent of Taiwan's total needs, and their only small problem is their limited territory since they are overpopulated - they have 23 million inhabitants in an area only two and a half times larger than Montenegro!
So far, they have built 16 farms with 169 windmills on the west coast, a million roofs are covered with solar panels, and by 2025 they will triple the production of electricity from wind sources. So now compare.
Bonus video:
