Minister of Housing and Urban Development Phiwayinkhosi Mabuza
The Taiwan Experience
21/10/2014 03:00:00By Baphelele Kunene
where unity means prosperity
WITH its modern and convenient cities, free and open political environment, vibrant and inclusive society, the Republic of China on Taiwan has become a premier business, cultural and tourist destination.
One of the key factors in this success story is the good will that Taiwan has gardened in other countries across the globe, including Swaziland.
Through the promotion of its democratic ideals, dynamic business environment and acclaimed health care and education systems; I today, can personally attest that Taiwan has managed to build a significant amount of soft power around the world.
Having been awarded the opportunity to visit Taiwan, I have witnessed a number of models and learnt of the success stories.
The nation is celebrated for the creativity of its music industry, and its mix of street snacks and high –end restaurants has earned the praise of global travellers, including hundreds of international journalists who have the opportunity to visit the country.
Similarly to Swaziland, Taiwanese culture has also made an indelible mark on the world.
The arrival of Minister of Housing and Urban Development Phiwayinkhosi Mabuza for Taiwan’s National Day Celebrations was a cherry on top of the cake as he was clad in traditional regalia.
Throngs of Taiwanese and international delegates queued to take pictures with the Minister, symbolising the beauty and attractiveness of the Swazi culture. The kindness of Taiwanese is not only present in the hospitality shown to visitors; it can also be seen through people’s compassion and desire to help those in need.
The nation has one of the highest blood donation rates in the world while Taiwanese people have been praised for their generous contributions to international aid efforts in the aftermath of tragedies.
One of the relief foundations we had the opportunity to visit was the Buddhist Compassion Relief Tzu Chi Foundation which has been in the forefront in such tragedies including the 2010 Haiti earthquake, 2011 earthquake in Japan, 2008 earth quake in China amongst hundred other incidents.
Sharing the fruits of innovation
Surrounded by the sea, Taiwan has continuously sought outward development opportunities, seeking to expand trade links with other countries as a main driving force of its economic growth.
Since the 1960s, with the government actively implementing export-oriented policies, external trade has grown rapidly.
In 2012, Taiwan's total trade amounted to US$571.65 billion (US$301.18 billion in exports and US$270.47 billion in imports), the 18th highest of countries and territories worldwide.
During the early 1960s, Taiwan's exports consisted mainly of processed agricultural products.
industrialisation
With the country’s level of industrialisation continuously rising, the share of industrial goods in exports has stood at 99 percent since the turn of the century. Within this category, the share of electronic, electrical and IT products has increased from 15.6 percent in 1981 to 36.0% percent in 2012. On the import side, owing to Taiwan's lack of natural resources, agricultural and industrial raw materials have long made up the bulk of imports, accounting for 77.2 percent of total imports in 2012, followed by capital goods and consumer goods with shares of 13.4 percent and 9.4 percent, respectively. The rapid progress of globalisation and the global positioning of Taiwanese businesses have markedly changed the relative status of Taiwan's trade partners. On the export side, the United States had always been Taiwan's largest export market up to 1999, but as cross-strait economic and trade relations have grown steadily closer, mainland China (including Hong Kong) has already supplanted the U.S. as Taiwan's primary export market, receiving 39.4 percent of Taiwan’s total exports in 2012.
On the import side, up to 1994, the US and Japan continuously provided more than half of Taiwan's imports; but 2012, their combined share had fallen to just 26.3 percent, while the shares from mainland China and ASEAN countries had increased from 2.2 percent and 10.3 percent to 16.1 percent and 11.6%, respectively.
Infrastructure Development; Swaziland right on track
The continuous augmentation of infrastructure has been key to maintaining the growth of Taiwan’s economy.
In 1973, the government launched the Ten Major Development Projects, a set of national infrastructure projects for freeway, international airport, steel plant, and nuclear power plant construction, railway electrification, and other such works to drive forward the transformational development of Taiwan’s economy.
This was followed in 1978 by the Twelve Development Projects, which encompassed not only physical infrastructure for such purposes as developing heavy and chemical industries, but also new town development, island wide culture centers, and other basic social, cultural and welfare infrastructure.
It goes without saying that the construction of the new King Mswati III airport and the railway are sure to yield positive fruits for the country’s economy.
According to Taiwan’s President Ma Ying-jeou, when they constructed Taiwan’s airport (Taipei) a few years ago, they hardly had any business with a number of countries in terms of airlines but today the country boasts of over 800 flights per week.
Speaking during the National Day celebrations, he said in the 1980s, as Taiwan's national income rose rapidly, the government turned its focus to enhancing national living quality.
This formed the main theme of the Fourteen Major Infrastructure Projects launched in 1984, the components of which included not just purely economic projects such as installing modern telecom infrastructure and building an MRT system in Taipei, but also social infrastructure for such purposes as providing health care and treating urban garbage.
In 1991, the Six-Year National Development Plan was inaugurated to substantially expand electric power, aviation, environmental protection, medical care, and other public construction.
To alleviate its fiscal burden, in 1994 the government announced the Statute for Encouragement of Private Participation in Transportation Infrastructure Projects, which provided incentives for private participation in public infrastructure projects, and under which the Taiwan High Speed Rail (THSR) was constructed in BOT (build-operate-transfer) mode.
In 2004, the government launched the New Ten Projects for investment in cultural, sci-tech and other such infrastructure with a bearing on public welfare and national competitiveness.
In 2008, as it grappled with the severe impact of the global financial crisis, Taiwan confronted a key moment of structural transition.
To meet the urgent need to bolster infrastructure required for long-term development, and responding to the intensifying effects of global climate change and the increasing pressure to conserve energy and reduce carbon emissions, the government concentrated public construction resources in plans for the prioritised implementation of the i-Taiwan 12 Projects.
Launched in 2009, to be carried out over an eight-year timeframe up to 2016, and calling for investment totalling NT$3.99 trillion, this initiative mapped out 12 sets of projects for developing a fast and convenient island wide transport network, building an intelligent Taiwan, developing industrial innovation corridors, planting forests, carrying out flood-prevention works, and other purposes collectively aimed at driving a new wave of growth for Taiwan’s economy.
