To Culture a Pearl The Visionary Growth of Taichung Speaker: Dr Jason Hu Taichung City Mayor Date: 7 December 2007, 6.30pm 8.30pm Venue: New Theatre, London School of Economics Organised By: LSE Taiwanese Society Chair: Dr Paul-François Tremlett Co-editor, Taiwan in Comparative Perspective, LSE This is a summary, it is not a transcript Introduction by Paul-François Tremlett I am pleased to introduce a distinguished speaker to the LSE, Dr Jason Hu, the Mayor of Taichung City. Mayor Hu has come here through an invitation from the LSE Taiwanese Society, which has organised the event. From its early days, the LSE has aimed to influence wider society, and has gained a reputation for participants willing to engage in dialogue, and challenge the status quo. The School regularly welcomes leading public figures on campus; world leaders and thinkers speak at lectures and workshops throughout the academic year. Recent distinguished guests have included Kofi Annan, Bill Clinton, and Nelson Mandela. Dr Hu is the third mayor from Taiwan to speak at LSE in the last two years. In February 2005, the Mayor of Taipei, Ying-jeou Ma, spoke on the subject of peace in East Asia, and March last year we heard from Yeh Chu-Lan, the Mayor of Kaohsiung City. On that occasion, Ms Yeh spoke on political change in Taiwan. So, having had the both the north of Taiwan and the south of the island at LSE, and I am glad now that Dr Hu is with us now to give us the view from the centre. I believe that Dr Hu will also be keen on this opportunity, as his ambition, as he has put it, is to build up his city so that the people of Taichung can tell other people with pride that they also have a top mayor and that Taichung is on a par with Taipei and Kaohsiung. 1
Dr Hu has been the mayor of Taichung since 2002, and he was re-elected in 2005 with the highest number of votes ever received by a mayoral candidate in the city. He became mayor following a distinguished career which has included posts as representative to the USA and as Minister for Foreign Affairs. I am very pleased to introduce his lecture Growing a Cultural Pearl in the East. Dr Hu will speak for 50 minutes, after which we will take questions from the audience. Please raise your hand and state your name and affiliation, and keep your questions brief and to the point. Presentation by Jason Hu In early December, Taichung won a World Leadership Award for best city in the field of the Culture and the Arts from the World Leadership Forum. It came first place, beating Lima, which has Inca remains that are hundreds of years old, and Albuquerque, which is on the USA-Mexico border and has American and Spanish heritage. The visionary growth of Taichung is an untold story; we talk a lot about international politics, but inter-city politics are are also important; all cities would do better to join hands. Cities are the unknown heroes in the development of human history, and better cities mean a better world. Taichung Park was built 99 years ago by the Japanese. It has now been transformed with laser and water displays, and changes like this are taking place all over the world. A media executive recently wrote me a letter: I was deeply impressed and moved to see for myself how your efforts over the past five years as mayor have transformed the image and reality of Taichung from a seedy second-class sex saloon into a comely, cultural, and cosmopolitan city that is now rightly the pride of Taiwan. In the brief time I was there, I was overjoyed to behold the priceless gifts you have given the citizens of Taiwan: World Class attainment with no loss at all of all the friendliness, warmth and exuberance that remain central Taiwan s most precious charms. Various improvements: Civic Square contained an unfinished skeleton of a building. I gained support from the banks to complete it, telling them that I would rent it for the city government if no-one wanted to use it. It is the tallest building outside Taipei, and Hotel 1 brought the heart and prosperity back to the city centre. The Science Park contains new factories. Intercontinental Baseball Stadium 2
Fulfilment Amphitheatre ten trucks can drive to the back-stage. It is the largest amphitheatre in Asia, and people arrived at 4.30pm for a 7.30pm concert. It is so named because there you can fulfil your dreams. City Hall Metropolitan Taichung Opera House: designed by Toyo Ito, it is due to open in 2009, and many experts say it will be comparable to Sydney. There are five pillars to grow a city: 1. Central Taiwan Economic Bloc (CTEB) Taichung is at the Heart of Taiwan (H.O.T.), with a population of six million. one hour by car from any point in the CTEB one hour by tain from anywhere north or south one hour by air from mainland China 2. Creativity Because of the importance of creativity and difference, and Taichung has endeavoured to be different. Election posters for the last 60 to 70 years have usually shown politicians in two poses, so I developed a new one. The chairman of the election committee said it would not work, as it did not show my face, but it became the hottest election poster on the net. While a British PR expert suggested a black Taiwanese dog mascot to represent the city in the Year of the Dog and during the Lantern Festival, I decided this was too obvious. Instead, I decided on using Snoopy, and got permission from Disney within two weeks. Three million came to the Taichung Lantern Festival, which was as many as came to the National Lantern Festival. Next year, for the Year of the Rat, the city will use Mickey Mouse. You need to combine Western and Eastern culture. Taichung is also known for its hand-painted saxophones and for its Internet Idol Play TV drama, which has received six million visitors in three months. This emphasis on creativity follows the importance given to being creative as explained in the book Blue Ocean Strategy. 3. Culture Taichung is not as sexy as Kaohsiung, or as pretty as Taipei, so instead it has to be better-educated. From August to October, there is a Cultural Season, which attracted 35,000 in its first year, and 350,000 in its fifth year. During this time, there are events every weekend: literature, arts, and music, modelled on the kind of events found in Edinburgh. 3
In 2003 an impresario wanted to hire a hall for a Brazilian Carnival; I told him to hold it on the street, and the city would pay for it. 100,000 people came. Another event was a Piano Code concert. The lawn on the Civic Square is kept clear of activities to avoid a problem of dust, with the exception of Jazz Music Night. 4. Economy A mayor is only a stall manager, and the economy is very important. No money, no work. The Science Park cost US$53 billion over four years, and was the biggest investment in Taiwan. It contains 91 factories in 765 hectares, and 400 companies were interested in coming. It has created 20,000 jobs to date, and will provide 80,000 jobs over ten years. Building the park, which will contain precision machinery plants, was delayed for ten years. There has been a 317% increase in property sales between 2002 and 2006, with a 360% average growth in urban land prices. There has also been a 10% growth each year in property purchase, and from 2004-06 this was the highest in Taiwan. There has been a 167% growth in interest capital of the construction industry, a 131% growth of culture and media industry, and a 156% growth in the revenues of Taichung s main department store. 5. World Stage To be famous at home, one should first aim to be famous in the world, and to be No.1 in Taiwan, one must first be No.1 in the world; the sky is the limit, and the earth is our platform. I approached the Guggenheim Museum in New York, and competed with cities such as Tokyo, Shanghai, and Hong Kong for a new Guggenheim building. When I cut ribbons to open buildings, my dream was that one day I would open the best building in the world, and this would have been it. I won the contract, but the government money which had been promised was refused, for all kinds of reasons. It would have brought in 1.4 million visitors. It was my biggest defeat. The city has been described as the healthiest in Taiwan, the most environmentally friendly (with the cleanest homes and the most recycling), having the most caring local government, and being the least risky for falling accidents among the elderly. It is the happiest city, with the highest attendance at cultural events. It is the first choice of young job seekers, with the best infrastructure and with a mayor seen to have the highest integrity. In 2003 the Vienna Philharmonika came, and in 2004 Yo-Yo Ma performed here. Pavarotti s farewell performance was in the city. Next year, Andrea 4
Bocelli may come to give a memorial concert for Pavarotti. Also, as soon as building began on the Intercontinental Baseball Stadium, I planned for games to take place there. The size of the main park exceeds the requirements for green space in a city, and it contains space for an indoor stadium, convention centre, and a university campus. It is hoped it will win the 2008 Progressive Architecture Award. Slogan: Always Growing, Forever Glowing Between 2002 and 2006, the attendance rate at cultural events increased seven-fold, while unemployment decreased by 25%. Revenue is up by about 30%, and the total budget grew by 100%, from US$900 million to US$1.8 billion. Bus rides have increased from 403,035 in 2001, to 1,717,087 in 2006. Taichung s location within the Greater China Economic Zone means that future prosperity is more or less guaranteed. It is hoped that Taichung will win the 2008 US Programme Architecture Award. Questions and Answers Question One:: How can you ensure the prosperity and progress will not end when a new mayor comes in, and how can you share this with another city? Hu: In my previous work experience, I felt that once you left a political position, all you have achieved and dedicated your energy to will fall apart and become nothing, and was meaningless. I feel better now as a mayor. My achievements as foreign minister may not be preserved, but what I have done for Taichung is appreciated by the people, and the next mayor will do what I have done to keep popular. I am thinking about the next forty years. The people will judge me and my successor. As for sharing, I will do so with the central bloc first, as we are all in this together and need to cooperate. A symbiotic understanding leads to sharing. You have to motivate people to understand. Question Two: Will you visit Oxford next time you come to England? And, you make me proud and should be a presidential candidate Oxford is preferable to Harvard. Also, in your book you mentioned you were once offered a teaching position in the UK. If you were offered one again, would you accept it? Hu: This is the only time I have come to England without going to Oxford; it won t happen again. I can t be sure I won t be prosecuted for corruption if I run for president, and although it s possible I would teach in the UK, my wife needs me and I owe her much. Someone said I should take my wife to Oxford so she can remember our earlier life there. Question Three: [In Chinese: I am an educationalist, and the father of two children. I am very concerned about the core values of Taiwan s society: not 5
telling lies and not swearing. However, many government officers tell lies and swear in public. This makes it hard for parents and teachers to educate children and students. I don t want to discuss high-level ideological and international issues, I just want a down-to-earth discussion. As Taichung city mayor you use culture to govern your city; how can you use culture to restore these core values?] Hu: [In Chinese: Indeed, when cultural events are promoted more, the crime rate declines, and the environment becomes more friendly]. Leadership and traditional family values are important. [In Chinese: During elections, you should consider how someone acts, rather than just how they speak.] During elections, we should not just consider things from an academic point of view or the media s view, but from the voters perspective. What do the voters really want? Change [In Chinese: and harmony. They don t want to see fighting between political parties or to see ethnic groups divided]. Harmony is a better word than reconciliation. The media can reflect, but should not dictate. Voters are the ultimate masters. The media published my medical records, saying I might die one day but that is true of anyone. Question Four: [In Chinese: Although you are more concerned with issues of daily life and you don t want to talk about political parties, but it would be a pity not to ask you a political question. After next year s Presidential elections, do you think the Three Links (= postal, trade, and transportation) across the Taiwan Strait and contact on either side will be smoother? Also, do you think that if political divisions are given up, economic development will help both sides come closer together?] Hu: We don t know when the DPP will make pledges. If the KMT s Ma Ying- Jeou is elected, it may be possible, [In Chinese: and it may also be possible if the DPP s Frank Hsieh is elected], as he is more pragmatic than Chen Shui- Bien [In Chinese: If the Three Links is enacted, it will have a big impact on many social sectors in Taiwan, such as hotels and other local businesses. And as you say, political divisions should be given up, but the major problem is the issue of the sovereignty of Taiwan. The KMT suggests that the problem of Taiwan s sovereignty should for the time being be put aside]. Summary by the Taiwan Culture Research Programme 6