Faith in the future outta the now

     The new landmark of Taipei--Taipei 101[1]      


Beijing takes pride in her “Nest”--National Stadium[2]

     The relationship between cities of comparable importance is always tense and confrontational.  Being the capital cities of Taiwan and China, Taipei and Beijing have been competing with each other for quite a long time.  Thus, it is interesting to analyze the similarities and differences between these two cities.  After careful analysis, though Taipei and Beijing have some parallels, one can find that the two cities exhibit many important and profound differences.

     Roughly speaking, Taipei and Beijing are similar in some ways.  To begin with, they are both capital cities that attract people from all over the world and function as the political and economic hubs of Taiwan and China.  Second, both cities possess modern and traditional sides, and the governments have managed to preserve and promote this exceptional coexistence both as a national heritage and as a means of attracting visitors.  Moreover, Taipei and Beijing are both eager to be modernized and internationalized.  For example, the “craze” to learn to speak the international language English is expressed simultaneously in both cities.

In spite of these similarities, these two cities display several significant differences.

National Taiwan University College of Liberal Arts, built in 1929[3]


 The Imperial Palace, whose main construction was first built in 1368[4]

     The first difference lies in the way Taipei and Beijing present different styles of tradition.  In the past four centuries, Taiwan has experienced numerous migrations and colonizations, such as the Spanish occupation of northern Taiwan from 1626 to 1642, the Dutch colonization from 1624 to 1662, and the fifty years’ colonization by Japan from 1895 to 1945.  Thus, Taipei, as the capital city, faithfully reflects  cultural diversity in its historical sites.  Whereas Fort Santo Domingo exemplifies the Spanish and Dutch architectural styles, the original buildings of Taihoku Imperial University and Songshan Tobacco Plant tell much about the half-century of Japanese colonization.  On the other hand, Taipei is also rich in Chinese traditional buildings, such as Taipei Fu Cheng, Cheng-Huang Temple in Da Dao Cheng, Longshan Temple, and Xingtian Temple[5].  From the views of visitors to Taipei, it is rather marvelous to witness these extremely different types of historical sites harmoniously coexisting in this city, which adds a special flavor and vitality to Taipei.  In contrast, Beijing has been the capital city of five-thousand-year-old China for more than six hundred years; thus, Beijing is world-famous for its rich imperial constructions, such as the Imperial Palace, the Great Wall, the Temple of Heaven, the Summer Palace, Beijings, and the Imperial Garden Yuanming Yuan.  These awe-inspiring buildings are a combination of national wealth and pride.  While the visitors are walking there, the greatness of ancient China can be easily comprehended from the bottom of their hearts.                                                               English signs at Taipei City Hall[6]

    Moreover, both cities, as they endeavor to preserve their historical sites, are eager to become international cities, but the methods they employ to attain the goal are quite different.  Taipei’s strategy can be categorized as “bottom-up,” since its aim is to allow all of its citizens to speak adequate English and to be globally conscious.  English education, for example, starts early and is for everyone nationwide.  Kids are required to learn English at school from the age of 7, and English signs can be seen in places such as schools and streets.  In addition, in order to be connected to the international world, the government has been encouraging familiarization with the Internet.  According to a recent report, the Internet Penetration Rate in Taipei amounted to 83.6%[7] in 2006, which means that the majority of Taipei citizens can easily have access to what is happening and what has happened in the global village. 

The results of Google Search are censored and blocked by GFW[8]

Beijing, as compared to the openness of Taipei, expresses a rather conservative and limited view of internalization.  It is observed that Beijing utilizes a top-down strategy, aiming to make only some chosen ones highly competitive in the international world.  For example, it is quite common in those famous historical sites to spot well-trained tour guides demonstrating their advanced language abilities.  Foreign visitors to the Imperial Palace are usually greatly impressed with the fluency and accuracy of the tour guides’ foreign language speaking, be it English, German, French, Japanese, or Malay.  However, ordinary citizens in Beijing have trouble with simple English conversation and are unwilling to try to talk in English for fear of “lose face.”  A recent legal case can be used to illustrate the English complex of Beijing’s citizens.  In July of this year, a lawyer in Beijing sued McDonald’s for not providing customers with all-Chinese receipts.  Since the court and the public in Beijing expressed obvious favor and support for the lawyer, McDonald’s soon made amendments as required and presented the company’s solemn apology to the complainant[9].  In addition, the Internet Penetration Rate in Beijing, an important indicator, was only 30% in 2006[10], and China’s government is notorious for its censorship of websites.  Because of delicate operation systems, such as Great Firewall and Golden Shield Project, many notable foreign websites are blocked or censored by the government.  As a result, people in China cannot view or even know of the existence of websites such as Chinese Wikipedia, BBC, Amnesty International, Voice of America, and almost all of the news websites and personal blogs in Taiwan.   It is apparent that with such limited access to the Internet, the news and information are still under the severe control of the government, which poses a formidable obstacle to the country’s, or Beijing’s, international progress.

     One more difference between Taipei and Beijing is the diverse dispositions and temperaments exemplified by citizens in these two cities.  Taipei’s citizens are noted for their friendliness and politeness, but are criticized for not being forthright by some observers.  For example, the audience at a concert is always well-behaved, and most of the time, they sit quietly in their seats, seldom cheering or waving their hands not because they don’t like the performance but because they try not to disturb others.   

Lin Hwai-Min explained to the audience in Beijing that he had to stop the performance of Cloud Gate  due to the reckless photo-taking and use of flashlights[11]

In contrast, Beijing’s citizens are regarded as straightforward and even rude, but at the same time, they are very enthusiastic and fervent when expressing themselves.  For instance, the audience at a concert is used to taking photos of the performers at will and chatting or even eating during the performance.  As a result, some artistic events are so seriously interrupted by the audience that they are halted.  However, it is also very natural for them to generously give an ardent[response, and many artists have found that they are deeply moved by Beijing audience’s fervent support and direct appreciation.  

     Based on these few examples, it is clear that Taipei and Beijing are very different.  Although these two cities are parallel in their status, their coexistence of modernity and tradition, and their eagerness to be modernized and internationalized, they are indeed more different than similar.  What is more, while their similarities make them good rivals, their differences seem to imply the future developments of these two cities.  In order for Taipei and Beijing to further improve the cities per se and their citizens' lives, it is crucial for them to put aside their discrepancies and build a competitive yet cooperative relationship between them.