In the late 1970s, information became a fashionable word. Modest industrial society was in its last stage, to be shortly replaced by the Information Age, when the globe would be linked by a single, unified communications network. Automation would replace substantial amounts of manual labor, and leisure time would be significantly increased.
The Information Age presents the ROC with a considerable challenge. The nation has built itself into one of the most advanced nations of the developing world and established an equality of income distribution that more industrialized countries might envy. Productivity, however, has not kept pace with rising wages on the island, decreasing what had been Taiwan's main comparative advantage over other countries. Competing successfully in the capital goods sector above all else requires, paradoxically, information. In the Information Age economy, the race is not to the swift but to those in the know.
The government in 1979 designated the information industry as a strategic industry and since then has established many committees and organizations to develop and guide this crucial sector. There have been many programs set up for train ingand product development, such as the digital phone network. Success has been made in promoting computerization in the private and public sectors. The Chinese language, whose complexity for years was thought to be an obstacle to information processing, has entered the Information Age, with Chinese language hardware and software readily available, although authorities and makers here still have not yet settled on a single address code.
Computers can now be found in use everywhere, in department stores, hair salons, and home security systems. Even if one has no direct contact with the information industry, it is patently clear that the everyday technology of our lives is quite different from what it was 10 years ago. Nevertheless, it brings problems as well as challenges, and many people are hard-pressed to keep pace with the changes presented by the Information Age.
The problem is shared by nations as well as people. Earlier this month, the government decided to manufacture very large system integrated circuits (VLSIs), the most fundamental part of the information industry. The move to manufacture VLSIs was not made without little conversation. Proponents argued that a ready supply here would aid development of downstream infrastructure and avoid shortages similar to the kind that bedeviled the island last spring. Opponents pointed to the high investment costs and the ten-year period before such an investment would bear fruit. Fears were also expressed that the technology might become obsolete in the meantime, leaving Taiwan with factories full of expensive, useless equipment.
At present the ROC information industry is directed toward producing for OEMs (Original Equipment Manufacturers), in which firms produce in bulk for foreign multinational companies. Over-reliance on this type of relationship leads to a stunted industry, with little expertise in research and development and marketing. Breaking out of this cul-de-sac, however, requires taking considerable risks, given the furious rate of change in the industry.
Optic fibers have played an important and little-publicized role in bringing the Information Age closer. Previously people were forced to rely on microwaves, which had serious capacity limits. If too many people were on the line, the message would become "disturbed" and unintelligible to all. Optic fibers, as thin as a hair, have a much greater capacity (over 1000 circuits) and are lighter and smaller as well. Equally important is suitability for Integrated Services Digital Networks (ISDN), which can transmit sound, printed data, and pictures.
Cable television is another important part of the Information Age. Two years ago, the government established a committee to study the feasibility of expanding the island's capabilities in this area. Cable TV uses broad-band information processing circuitry and can carry over 100 different stations, as well as having other capacities not possessed by ordinary television programming. Some envision the day when people can do their banking and shopping completely through cable television, without needing to leave home. Nevertheless, as in the case of VLSIs, start-up costs are formidable, with losses of NT$100 million (US$2.5 million) in the first year or two not being uncommon. Coordination among the users in the network and programming questions also pose problems. In addition, cable TV falls in the gray area with regard to many legal questions involving property rights and government jurisdiction.
Cable TV first began in the United States over thirty years ago. Since that time, the FCC has changed its position toward this type of programming many times, with accompanying modifications in the law. The well-known American system QUBE has lost money for several years, while the Japanese experimental system, HI-OVIS, will be shut down. Despite these problems, cable TV ranks high on the agenda for the information industry for these two and other countries.
The list of obstacles faced by the ROC in this field runs long. High investment costs, programming sourcing, personnel training, and national security are but a few. Another intriguing question concerns the issue of government vs. private ownership. In the past few years, Japan and South Korea, which only had government-operated television, have taken steps to allow the private sector more freedom and control of this vital medium.
In spite of the uncertainties, planning in the Information Age is essential. While the government has begun to set up programs and targets, it still lacks a comprehensive, long-range approach to the industry, one that would prevent unnecessary duplication of effort and investment and ensure that the multitude of public and semi-public entities connected with the field work together, instead of against each other, which has sometimes been the case.
According to Business Week, before 1988 the world will spend US$88.4 billion annually on information equipment. Taiwan will certainly have a piece of the pie. The question only remains how big and of what sort.
(Translated by Mark Halperin)
[Picture Caption]
Optic fibers are made from quartz. The fiber has 50 layers of different chemical composition. (AT&T International Taiwan photo).
Optic fibers look like human hairs but are infinitely more complex (AT&T International Taiwan photo).
Department stores use computerized television to attract passerby.
Computer-designed portraits are quite life-like.
Mother and son shop for computer games.
Youngsters learn the basics of computer operation.
"We are faring well with hardware, but more work needs to be done with software regulations," says Directorate General of Telecommunications Director Chen Yu-k'ai.
Professor Hsu Chia-shih of National Chengchi University believes the information industry needs to be coordinated under a single, all-responsible government organ.
ISDN will make cashing paychecks and other time-consuming chores much less trouble in the future.
Optic fibers look like human hairs but are infinitely more complex （AT&T International Taiwan photo）.
Department stores use computerized television to attract passerby.
Computer-designed portraits are quite life-like.
Mother and son shop for computer games.
Youngsters learn the basics of computer operation.
"We are faring well with hardware, but more work needs to be done with software regulations," says Directorate General of Telecommunications Director Chen Yu-k'ai.
Professor Hsu Chia-shih of National Chengchi University believes the information industry needs to be coordinated under a single, all-responsible government organ.
