Preamble To have a better understanding of Taiwan, one must understand its history, culture, education, transport, economic activities and more so its government administration system. Taiwan has evolved from an agriculture based region to become one of the four Asian tigers (亚洲四小龙）is also an interesting thing to know. It is with this in mind that I planned a round-island tour with more time spent in Taipei, the capital of Taiwan.
The Journey The round-island journey began from Penang, Malaysia with 8 days on the move around Taiwan island and the last legs, staying in Taipei City for 4 days . . . . .
The main mode of transport of the journey round the island is by tourist bus. However the trip also enable tourists to experience the conventional railway as well as the modern high speed train.
The journey from Ruifang（瑞芳）in New Taipei City（新北市）to Hualian City（花莲市）in eastern Taiwan island is by the conventional train. The train takes about 2.5 hours. Although there is a highway that passes through the mountain range, tourists often prefer the train which is more comfortable and faster as compared to the windng and hilly terrain.
The journey from Zuoying（左营）north of Kaohsiung City（高雄市）to Tainan（台南市）is by the high speed train, cruisiing at a speed of 280 kph. The journey takes 12 minutes and the fare is NT$135.
The direct flight from Penang to Taipei takes 4.5 hour. There is no time difference
About Taiwan 有关台湾
Capital : Taipei City Land area : 35,883 sq. km Population : 23.3 million (2013 estimate) Language : Standard Chinese Currency : New Taiwan Dollar (NT$ / NTD) Exchange Rate: 100 RM 马币= 906.78 NT$ (Aug. 2013) GDP (nominal): US$20,328 (IMF April 2013) Time zone : UTC+8 Internet TLD : .tw .台湾 Calling code : +886
Penang and Taiwan location 槟城与台湾地理位置图
Taiwan - A Brief History The island of Taiwan was mainly inhabited by Taiwanese aborigines until the Dutch landed on the island in the 17th century. The Qing Dynasty of China conquered Taiwan in 1683. By the time Taiwan was ceded to Japan in 1895, the majority of Taiwan's inhabitants were Han Chinese (汉族）. The Republic of China (中華民國 ) or ROC was established in China in 1912 after overthrowing the Qing Dynasty. At the end of World War Two in 1945, Japan surrendered Taiwan to ROC. Following the Chinese civil war, the Communist Party of China took full control of mainland China and founded the People's Republic of China (PRC) in 1949. The ROC then relocated its government to Taiwan. Chiang Kai-shek （蒋介石 / 将中正） (born: 31.10.1887 - died: 5.4.1975) resumed duties as President of ROC in 1950 until 1975. The ROC jurisdiction was confined to Taiwan and its surrounding islands. . In 1971, the PRC replaced ROC seat at the United Nations.
Taiwan is an island of about 36,000 km² located 180 km off the coast of southeastern mainland China. Shaped roughly like a sweet potato, Taiwan is home to more than 23 million people with 13 minority tribes. It is one of the most densely populated places in the world. Besides its crowded cities, Taiwan is also known for steep mountains and lush forests. Besides trading and manufacturing, tourism industry also plays an important role in Taiwan economic activities.
Taiwan Today Taiwan economy grew rapidly and steadily from the 1970s due to the high influx of foreign direct investment from the developed countries such as USA, Germany, UK, France and Japan. The cheap labour cost tied up with the traditional culture of the locals - hardworking. thrifty and keen to learn attitude help to speed up the development pace. It gradully evolved from an agricultural and back yard industry to an export-oriented industrialised region，making international branded products and exporting a wide range of manufactured products worldwide. Taiwan, along with Singapore, South Korea and Hong Kong were then known as the Four Asian Tigers （亚洲四虎 / 亚洲四小龙）due to their rapid industrialization and the high economic growth. Their successful achievement became a much-sought-after module by other other countries.
Taiwan experienced a lesser impact in the 1997 Asian Financial Crisis. Their economic ties with China is cordial and encouraging with many Taiwanese companies setting up production plants there, employing about 10% of Taiwan workforce. Taiwan today has played a new role, as a giver of fund, investing in many part of the world, creating job opportunites in and imparting its advanced technological how-how to the countries it invested.
Tourism Industry The Taiwan tourism industry plays a significant role in enhance the island's economic activities. This is attributed to the government tourism agencies（台湾观光局）and the concerted effort put up by the private sectors. Taiwan has managed to sell its rich history, the varied cultural and festival, the natural scenery and the parks, the eating and shopping paradise to the outside world. Added to this is its good transport connectivity system, the affordable accomodation facilities and above all, readily available information related to tourism.
Tourist Attractions 旅游景点：national scenic areas 国家风景区 | parks 公园 | forest 森林游乐区 | recreation farms 休闲农场 | factories 工厂
The Beach : Hit by sea water and expose to the sun and rain as a result of earthquake, pieces of rocks appear in various shape and size; the most famous ones being the "Queen's Heads" 位於野柳 - 因波浪侵蚀，岩石风化及地壳运动等作用，造就了海蚀洞沟，烛状石，覃状岩，豆腐石，蜂窝石，壶穴等各种自然奇景。其中最特别的是女皇头
The Forest (Left) : The resort offers chalets in the forest enviroment. Taiwan island can be described as a mountainous island. Nearly two-third of of the island is covered by hills and mountain. The people of Taiwan view this as a gift of nature as many parts of these hilly land has been turned into economic use: for conventional fruit farming and for modern holiday resorts. 设在妖怪村内的森林旅宿如投入大自然的怀抱情景 www.mingshan.com.tw
The Lake (Right) : A breathtaking view of the Sun Moon Lake from the hotel. The Sun Moon Lake, located in the centre of Taiwan island and 748 meter above sea level, is the biggest natural lake in Taiwan. The eastern part of the lake resembles a sun and the western part resembles a moon, hence its name. 日月潭位于南投县，海拔748公尺，是台灣最大的天然湖泊，环湖處處皆有湖光山色，日月潭周邊有許多的民宿
Taiwan marine fishing industry is very much advanced and well equipped today. Their ocean going fishing vessels can be found in the high seas in any part of the world. Penang used to be their favorite destination for fuel, water and food supplies. Surrounded by the sea, Taiwan has mastered the breeding of fishes in cages. Through this mean, they are able to produce standard size fishes in quantity.
The industry players not only catch or breed fishes they are also involved in selling fish fry complete with technical support and marketing as well.
The government is very supportive in promoting aquaculture with the zoning of natural and artificial fish conservation areas. The traditional marketing networks help them to dispose of their catches with good returns of labours. Some of the fishing methodologies are inherited from the Japanese who introduced them during their occupation of Taiwan from 1895 to 1945. Nevertheless the method has since been developed with advanced technology and much sophisticated devices to enable to go reach farther, safter and get connected throughout their fishing trips.
Education The standard of education is one of the highest in the world especially in mathematics and science. 95% of the pupils go through the trade schools, high schools or colleges. Taiwan has many universities, both public and private. Like Malaysia, In term of fee, students in the public universities pay lesser that those in the private. Engineering courses are more popular as there are more opportunities in the employment market especially in the high-tech manufacturing sectors.
The following 9 universities in Taiwan were listed in the 500 leading universities in the world in 2012 with their ranking in that order. 在2012年世界500强大学排名中，台湾有九所大学也在名单内，它们依次是：: National Taiwan University (台湾大学) | National Tsing Hua University (清华大学) | National Cheng Kung University (成功大学) | National Chiao Tung University (交通大学) | Chang Guang University (长庚大学) | Natinal Yang Ming University (阳明大学) | China Medical University (中国医学大学) | National Central University (中央大学) | National Sun Yat-Sen University (中山大学)
A group of jubilant graduates from the National Chengchi University on the graduation day held on 1 June 2013 国立政治大学于2013年6月1日举办毕业典礼，一群毕业生在校园内兴高彩烈的一幕。
The HSBC Connections: Helping Businesses Grow Internationally
After losing manufacturing jobs to China for two decades, Taiwan hopes to lure manufacturers back to the island. Rising labor and materials prices are making China less attractive and pushing some manufacturers to seek other shores. The Taiwanese government, like others in Asia, is working hard to woo companies with various incentives …….... more 更多
A Successful Story - A Garment Manufacturer The clothing industry in Taiwan operated in a modest scale 50 years ago. Production is confined to conventional makes and the traditional markets. With the introduction of the export quota system in 1974, the industry depends very much on the quota for export especially to the USA. This opened up the market for branded quality apparels. New production technology was introduced. The miracle economic growth in the 1980s pathed the way for some far-sighted Taiwanese to set up their own production factories in countries where labour cost is lower. Some chose to farm the production out there - a move to overcome the export restriction. With the termination of the quota system in 2005 and with the rising cost of labour, competition becomes more tense. As a result some manufacturers were forced to cease their operation.
Notwithstanding the many constraints, there must be a secret as to how a garment manufacturer can make its way with its own production lines in Malaysia, Vietnam, Laos, Myanmar and China, besides Taiwan. To many people, both from within and outside the industry, garment production is a sun-set industry. However the CEO of this garment manufacturing company, Mr Carl Chen thinks otherwise. He said: "there is only sun-set management; there is no sun-set industry". Perhaps you may find some clues from the following video clips as to how his company had succeeded .......
