The cover story for this issue of Tai-wan Panorama is about Taichung, Taiwan's "new city of creativity." Thanks to the early influence of the former American military base at Chingchuankang, Taichung has long been Taiwan's fashion capital. In recent years, as Taipei and Kaohsiung have duked it out in the battle for supremacy, Taichung has made an impressive showing due to its strengths in traditional industry, technology, and culture. That's got a lot to do with the city's own unique style.

There are many theories about a city's style. On July 6, author Lung Ying-tai and Landis Hotels president Stanley Yen held a forum in Taichung called "Discover the Charm of a City." Mayor Jason Hu was also on hand for the discussion, and many interesting ideas were aired.

Lung, for example, pointed out that discussing the charm of a city was not the same as discussing ways to increase the numbers of tourists visiting it, or how to get big-name celebrities like F4 or A-mei to promote it. Rather, she said, it is about figuring out what kind of "soil" Taichung has, and what sort of "flowers" might grow from it. To her, the most important part of the equation is the people--when the people change, so does the city.

Since a city is nothing more than an assembly of its residents, that means that if those residents have certain cultural qualities there is no need for an official, top-down "promotion" of culture or to squander money on bringing in international stars. The people will know the importance of culture for themselves. They won't go tearing down old buildings in the middle of the night to preempt their being designated as cultural landmarks, for example. Nor will they allow junk to pile up outside their doors--rather, they'll plant flowers and allow their neighbors to enjoy the view.

Previously, former cultural affairs minister Chen Chi-nan promoted "civil aesthetics," believing that all citizens have the right to a beautiful environment, and also have the responsibility to maintain it. He also stressed self-awareness and public-mindedness, meaning that citizens should always keep an aesthetic of beauty in their minds rather than just doing expensive renovations to the interiors of their homes as they ignore grimy public walkways.

Taichung's sense of style may not spring from the lofty ideals of self-awareness and public-mindedness, but its lively and spontaneous creativity is rooted in its pleasant natural surroundings and the relaxed optimism of its residents. That should be considered an example of another aspect of Taiwan's beauty.

In addition to looking at the creativity of Taichung, this month's issue gets scientific with many stories relating to various fields of science. We look at the flourishing "blue gold" industries of Taiwan, that use water from the depths of the ocean. We examine the relationship between cleaning products and dangerous "environmental hormones" that have been linked to infertility and cancer. We also investigate a "desert" on the Changhua coast. And we meet Chen Ding-shinn, departing dean of National Taiwan University College of Medicine and warrior in the fight against hepatitis, which puts 1.8 million Taiwanese at risk of contracting liver cancer!

There is another special scientific report from Hawaii by senior writer Lin Hsin-ching. She ascended two 4,000-meter volcanoes, braving symptoms of altitude sickness like headaches and nausea, to bring us a first-hand report on Taiwanese achievements in the world of astronomy.

Her report covers two radio telescopes: the entirely Taiwanese-designed Array for Microwave Background Anisotropy (AMiBA), which came onstream in October 2006, and the earlier-built Sub-Millimeter Array, which was designed by Taiwanese researchers in collaboration with the US-based Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory, and has already yielded valuable results. These projects have won the affirmation of the astronomy world and represent a little-known yet lasting and tangible aspect of "the light of Taiwan."

Culture and science are the two pillars of a nation's development. Taiwan has made some achievements, but the road ahead is long. Here's to Taiwan, moving forward every day!