Taiwanimation

    Double Tenth (ROC National Day)

    or a brief history of the Republic of China


    I could bore you with history but both you and me'd rather not. So just a few quick facts.
    The Republic of China (ROC) is not to be confused with the People's Republic of China (PRC). The former is the democratic government of Taiwan, the other the Communists on the mainland.
    October 10 is the ROC National Day (not to be confused with October 1, the PRC national day) and marks the beginning of the revolution in 1911 that overthrew the Manchu dynasty.
    The rest of the story is a long one, so we're gonna skip ahead about 40 years.

    When the ROC government retreated to Taiwan in 1949, it brought along among other things, the country's gold reserves, the best part of the national art treasures (today on display at the National Palace Museum in Taipei, and most importantly, roughly 3 million citizens, including many leaders in science and industry. From this start, the government set about the construction of much infrastructure to develop the country's economy, which was in genuine Third World condition at the time.
    The first things built were basic transportation infrastructure, such as roads, rails, power lines, and hydroelectric dams. (seen in the back of the picture near the hills). Rent reform capped rates at 37.5%, and land was redistributed through government purchase. Former landowners were encouraged to invest in industry.
    The economy was still agriculturally based in the 1950s and 1960s, though, and pineapples and bananas were the most likely "Made in Taiwan" product. The industrial base was building but needed a boost to get going. Foreign aid, particularly from the U.S., helped many citizens get by.
    Everything was going along quite well until the 1970s, when the international emergence of the PRC resulted in the ROC's expulsion from the United Nations, and its subsequent move to its current one-of-a-kind diplomatic status. In response to this alienation from the outside world, the government began the "Self Strength Movement" for the country to establish its presence through its own strengths, particularly economic. Because after all, cash matters. A lot.

    In 1973, construction began on the Ten Major Construction Projects. An ambitious undertaking, it was scheduled to be done in five years (but ran late of course). This was the first and greatest of national construction of large scale infrastructure. It was also a propaganda of a sort, as all of the projects were either big, commonly used by everyone, or both.

    I have included all ten in the midground of the drawing. Here's a description of them:
    North-South Freeway (center)
    Previously, it took a whole day to make the trip from the capital and largest city, Taipei to the main southern city and port, Kaohsiung. The North South Freeway reduced travel time to 4 hours, 3 if you speed. It ran from Keelung, a port just north of Taipei, to Kaohsiung.
    At first, the road was built with two lanes on each side. Needless to say, "once built, they came", and car and truck registration soared as people came to take advantage of the freeway. Before long, the two lanes were clogged and third and fourth ones were added. Finally, in the early 1990s, a second freeway was opened in the northern part of the province.
    Railroad Electrification (top center)
    The electrification of the trunk line of the railway system had a similar effect to that of the highway- cutting travel time to the point where a round trip from north to south became feasible. At the same time, new locomotives and railcars were purchased (and the old ones sent to run on the non-electrified east coast line). These new trains could reach speeds of up to 110 km/h on regular runs and cut north-south travel time to 3 to 4 hours.
    North Link Railroad (top right)
    Seperated from the populated west by a massive mountain range that runs the full length of Taiwan and has many peaks of more than 2 km high, the east coast of Taiwan consisted of a narrow strip of arable land clinging along the coast. This region was rich in natural resources though. Transportation to it was exceedingly difficult then, though, and was done by a winding road through a mountain pass known for a stretch called "9 bends and 18 turns" where the road crossed a ridge by looping back and forth. Breathtaking scenery, nervetaking roads. The alternative was a long drive along the coast.
    The North Link Railroad followed the coast road (trains can't turn on a dime) but could reach much faster speeds, halving travel time. It quickly became the most popular part of the railroad system. Today, it remains the only profitable line, as the competing road hasn't changed much since. That will change soon with the opening of the 15 km long Taipei-Ilan tunnel, designed to make the isolated eastern county into a suburb of Taipei.
    Chiang Kai Shek International Airport (top right)
    As travel in and out of Taiwan increased, existing airport facilities were no longer sufficient. The Sungshan Airport in northeast Taipei had many problems, most of them stemming from its location between the edge of an expanding city and mountains. Thus all flights had to come in over the northern part of town, creating a major and constant noise. As planes got larger and passenger totals rose, the small terminal (of the walk in the front and out onto the tarmac type) just didn't cut it anymore. The airport now handles domestic flights. Don't laugh, people do fly between places on Taiwan, because the trains and highways just aren't fast enough...
    The new airport was built well outside of Taipei, and placed next to the sea in a neighboring county. It boasted a spacious and beautifully designed terminal building. In recent years a second terminal got put up to meet further increases in travel.
    Taichung Harbor (top left)
    Yet another transportation construction. Taichung, while near the coast (heh, just about every Taiwanese city is, can't get far from the coast on an island!) and the third largest city, had no port to serve it. So, to get the area's heavy industry going, an entire artificial harbor was dredged and built.
    Suao Harbor (top left)
    Another port, similar to Taichung. This one was built on the eastern (Pacific) coast.
    No. 1 Nuclear Power Plant (top center)
    Taiwan is a small place and was getting increasingly polluted as more and more power was needed. At the same time, the government was running out of rivers to dam. In the 1960s, when the project was planned, nuclear power was a big thing. The military also expressed a desire to make a nuke (As the Communists had them). That plan was later cancelled. No. 1 Nuclear Power Plant was built in the most logical place for a nuclear power plant- close to the demand for electricity, but as far away from that center of demand as possible. It ended up on the northernmost tip of the island.
    Not long after, No. 2 Nuclear Power Plant was opened at (surprise!) the southern tip of the island. No. 3 Nuke got built next to No. 1. Right now, No. 4 is under construction near 1 and 3. Together, they will generate about 40% of electrical power.
    Shipbuilding Yard (top left)
    Shipping is a vital part of the Taiwan economy, as ship is how most raw material comes in, and how most product is exported out. Logically, the thing to do is to have one's own shipyard. Located in the main port of Kaohsiung, the shipyard turns out cargo ships as well as military vessels (a vital necessity when arms purchases grew difficult).
    Steel Mill (center right) To support such things as a shipyard, as well as general construction, steel is needed. Lots of steel, and high quality steel at that. So, in the industrial city of Kaohsiung, a huge steel mill was built to supply the nation with steel.
    Petrochemical Industry (center) The petrochemical industry had two objectives- refining gasoline and producing plastics. Crude oil got pumped in and gasoline got pumped out. Together with the steel mill, the petro industry's refinery stacks dominated the Kaohsiung skyline for many years until the mid 1990s.

    The 10 Major Construction Projects became a big success and led to many more projects in the 1980s, 1990s, and present day. Some of the ones shown:
    Space Satellite (top, 1990s)
    Aerospace Industry (top, 1990s)- developed fighter aircraft
    Taipei World Trade Center (pink building, bottom left, 1970s)- built as the stock market boomed.
    Taipei Intl Finance Center (blue building, left, 2000s)- now under construction, to be tallest building in world. Funny thing is that stock market ain't booming now.
    Taipei Mass Rapid Transit (bottom, 1990s)- at long last a solution to the Taipei traffic jam.
    High Speed Railway (bottom center)- to cut north south travel time to 2 hours and lessen airport congestion.
    Science Based Industrial Park (right, 1980s)- this created the second "Made in Taiwan" boom, now replacing cheap plastic consumer goods with quality consumer electronics.
    Professional Baseball (right, 1980s)- first professional sport to come to Taiwan.
    National Health Insurance (bottom, 1990s)- biggest of many welfare programs.

    There are also many more that are alluded to... improved housing, education, environmental protection, cultural awareness, etc. as well as other less tangible things, such as full democracy with opposition parties, improved relations with the mainland and opening of travel, social equality, bloo bloo, bloo bloo, bloo bloo. In other words Taiwan has become a first-world nation. And this is within the span of barely 30 years. Impressive how much can be done in a generation, isn't it? Imagine what can be possible in the next 30 years...