ABSTRACT

Three major endeavours with regard to Taipei’s development under globalization are treated in this chapter. First, just like Taiwan’s overall development the economic structure has shifted from a manufacture-based to a high-technology and service-based one. Old and polluted factories have either closed down or moved away from the city. Taipei municipal government in recent years has put much of its efforts into developing the so-called high-tech corridor to ensure high valueadded industrial development on the one hand and keep abreast with the trend of economic globalization on the other. Second, being the global city of Taiwan that is anxious to realize the goal of becoming the ‘Asia-Pacific Trans-shipment Centre’1 launched by the previous Kuomintang (KMT – the ruling party of Taiwan (1949-2000) founded in 1991 by Dr Sun Yat-Sen, China’s National Father government ever since 1995), Taipei has completed the construction of the tallest building in the world – Taipei 101 – and formed the Sinyi new Central Business District (CBD) which, in a way, can be taken as one step forward towards making Taipei an Asia-Pacific financial centre. Third, being proud of better preserving traditional Chinese culture side by side with Western culture, in comparison with mainland China, Hong Kong and Singapore, the city of Taipei hopes to be able to excel in being the Asia-Pacific culture and media centre with relatively more creative manpower and a free environment.