THE great writer Samuel Langhorne Clemens – who was far better known as “Mark Twain”- once wrote that “travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness.”
Indeed it is!
I have found that the best way to know a country is to visit it with an open and spongy mind. I have had the good fortune of travelling to many places with strange sounding names, near and far. Every trip has provided a burst enlightenment and a fresh perspective on life and living. Importantly, every encounter with new people, places, and things has given me a better understanding of the world and Saint Lucia’s current and potential place within it.
This is why I have always felt obliged to share my travel experiences, perspectives and pictures as often and in as many ways as I can. It’s for the same reason I lament the fact that so few public officials feel similarly obliged. I feel deeply that if our public officials were to “think Saint Lucia” whenever they travel, our little rock will be a better place, as with such a mindset, these officials would be more likely to be alert to opportunities to apply what they see and learn in formulating national policies and strategies for our country.
In fact, during my time in our country’s public service, a public servant could not travel and not present a trip report within a week of his/her return. In my time in the Ministry of Planning in the 1980s, lead by my mentor and dear friend, Ausbert D’Auvergne, no official of the Ministry could travel without submitting a short paper justifying such travel and detailing how Saint Lucia could benefit therefrom. And it didn’t matter how obvious the benefits were.
Against this background, I have decided that from time to time I shall share with readers of The VOICE, pertinent perspectives that I have gained from my travels. Here, I reflect on my visits to Taiwan.
Saint Lucians would have come to know of Taiwan through its unceasing and pivotal support for our country’s development. Taiwan’s fingerprints are all over our national development programme. Often, I wonder how we would fare without its support; but that’s for “another show.”
After 3 visits to Taiwan totaling a month, I feel I’ve only scratched the surface of all there is to know about this amazing country of about 24 million people situated at the very heart of Asia. But every visit adds a new layer of understanding.
Orderliness
Taiwan’s culture of orderliness impressed me from my very first visit. Truly, it’s the way of life of the Taiwanese. Evidently, the government has been working hard and sustain this culture, but it’s also clear Taiwanese are in lock-step with their government in this. Taiwanese queue up for everything. I have yet to see any one jumping a queue in Taiwan. Everybody patiently awaits the green light at pedestrian crossings leaving me convinced that if they’re jaywalkers in the country, they must come out when everyone is asleep.
Doubtless, this culture of orderliness is generating immeasurable benefits for government and citizens alike. Most Saint Lucians are yet to appreciate how costly citizen security inherently is. However, Taiwan is proof that when citizens play their part, governments do not need to spend heavily on law enforcement and can focus scarce resources in other critical areas.
A notable exception to Taiwan’s culture of orderliness is the frenetic traffic on its roads. In the first half of 2023, traffic accidents and associated deaths in Taiwan rose by 13.3 percent and 6.4 percent, respectively, compared to the same period in 2022. It’s not that motorists are breaking the law willy-nilly. It’s more a case of the vast colony of two-wheeled motorists jostling for space on the country’s roadways with their multi-wheeled counterparts. There are nearly 22 million vehicles in Taiwan, of which over 14 million are motorcycles. The government has been deeply concerned about road safety and accepts that it must “work harder” at improving it. To that end, new traffic safety measures were recently approved. Given that Saint Lucia has a growing traffic safety problem, our officials should take a close look at Taiwan’s approach, perchance to borrow some workable ideas from the country.
First rate transportation
Those searching for a less heart-thumping travel experience in Taiwan have several alternatives to choose from, including the much-vaunted Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) and High Speed Rail (HSR). As is the case in much of Asia, Taiwan’s public transportation system is orderly, punctual, reliable, efficient and incredibly clean. Moreover, the per-kilometer cost of travel on Taiwan’s HSR is on average, about one-tenth of the cost in the USA.
Citizen Resilience
The vast majority of Taiwanese take personal responsibility for their health through regular exercise. It’s always a joy watching elderly Taiwanese rise before the sun to exercise at parks equipped with open air exercise machines. This culture of personal care partly explains why the average Taiwanese has a life expectancy of 80+ years. Another reason is Taiwan’s modern, efficient and affordable public healthcare system. Health procedures cost at least 5 times less than in the US.
Taiwan’s approach to health shocks is exemplary. Even though Covid cases are down, a mask mandate to contain the spread of the virus is voluntarily being observed by EVERY citizen. It would be truer to say that mask wearing is natural as opposed to it being enforced. Before Covid made its dramatic and telling entrance, Taiwanese had long adopted a culture of mask wearing to control the spread of even the common cold and /or flu and as a common courtesy to others.
On my last trip to Taiwan via the US, it was intriguing to compare the country’s approach to Covid prevention with that used in the US. Before leaving for the US mainland, we had to complete an Attestation Form confirming we were fully vaccinated and free of Covid symptoms. US flight attendants were duty bound to announce that mask wearing was “a personal choice” which should be respected by all passengers. They had to do this because of the many fights that had occurred on flights between some travellers who are violently against mask wearing and those who wear them. However, on Asian airlines, mask wearing was mandatory. Any traveller who had a problem with that, simply could not have travelled to Asia. On arriving in Taiwan, we were given Rapid Antigen Test kits and instructed to self-test every 2 days until we left the country.
Next to Godliness.
Then, there is Taiwan’s renowned coast-to-coast cleanliness. Rivers flow free of waste. Public washrooms are super clean. Their floors are clean enough to sleep on. There are no broken toilet seats or faulty plumbing. Sidewalks are routinely swept clean. Waste is religiously deposited into containers that are emptied with militaristic discipline. Here too, Taiwanese are helping their own cause and freeing the government to do other things such as subsidizing health and transportation costs.
Citizen Security
I’m always amazed to see long lines of scooters parked on sidewalks and underpasses with rider helmets on their seats. Often, they are left there by their owners for extended periods, confident they will not be stolen. Many who lost their personal belongings say they were able to retrieve them fully intact at lost & found facilities; which is not to say there is no petty theft in Taiwan. To this day, I can’t recall hearing the siren of a police vehicle even once. Come to think of it, the only times I saw a police officer was at the airport. This is always a sign that law enforcement is relying on public cameras to keep tabs on things. The surrounds of police stations are quieter than a church or cemetery.
A 2022 mid-year crime index released by the international database firm Numbeo, ranked Taiwan as the third-safest country in the world. Of course, none of this is to say that the police have little to do and/or that there’s no crime in Taiwan. In 2021, just under 243,000 crimes, including 292 homicides were recorded by police; but these figures are considered “very low” for a country of 23 million people.
Culture and heritage preservation
Taiwan deserves full marks for its strong expression and preservation of its cultural/heritage and physical environment. There are numerous well-maintained temples, museums and memorials all over the country. Often, these features are incorporated into national parks. A highlight of my last trip was a visit to the Formosan Aboriginal Culture Village which is part of the Sun-Moon Lake National Scenic Area.
The Park, which spans 62 hectares showcases the way of life of Taiwan’s aboriginal tribes. It is frequently visited by schoolchildren and adults alike. I was deeply impressed with its detailed design and construction as well as with the maintenance of its buildings, artifacts and natural landscape. I was told that planning and construction of the park took about 3 decades. In the Caribbean, we are not used to this type of long range planning and development. I can definitely say that by virtue of that experience, I came away with a better knowledge of Taiwan’s history and the way of life of its indigenous people.
Technological Prowess
Taiwan is also a technology powerhouse. It’s one of the world’s leading producers and users of ICT and is ranked 8th out of 64 economies in the World Competitiveness Index by International Institute for Management Development. Taiwanese are connected to each other and to the world via a coast-to-coast FREE WiFi network. I gained a first-hand appreciation of the enormous benefits of this system by observing the many ways our daughter used her phone to move us about during our stay. It’s often forgotten that a national WiFi network is only as good as the data that can be accessed through it.
The clear message for us in Saint Lucia and the Caribbean is that the more data that we digitize and put online, the more efficient the public WiFi system will be. Truth be told, we are laggards in this respect, with our maze of unnamed streets and buildings. But we need look no further than Taiwan to help us put that room of our house in order.
High class Education
Semi-finally, there’s Taiwan’s much vaunted education system. Instructively, 46 of Taiwan’s 126 universities were included in the overall 2023 Times Higher Education World University Rankings which assessed 1799 universities across 104 countries.
Hundreds of Saint Lucian students have been able to access Taiwan’s universities. Some students have remained in Taiwan after completing their studies, thereby seeding a diaspora, that in time, can be tapped for various developmental purposes.
Food Security
And finally, there’s Taiwan’s highly diversified agricultural sector which is anchored in a vast network of farms of various sizes around the country, many of which use modern farming technologies. Food in Taiwan is generally affordable, in part because of the modest Taiwanese diet consisting of rice, vegetables, chicken, meat and fish of all varieties.
Conclusion
Taiwan is a continuing revelation. It’s like an open campus, in that there is much one can learn, if one wishes to. Many government ministers and officials have visited Taiwan since the start of diplomatic relations. It’s time to complement any learning from these visits with the strong developmental support that we receive from Taiwan.