At seven o'clock in the morning, Kaohsiung's broad streets are packed with motorcyclists hastening to work. They swarm towards the Export Processing Zones, the China Steel Corporation, China Shipbuilding Corporation, Chinese Petroleum Corporation, Evergreen Marine Transport Company docks and other public enterprises. As the sky lightens, Kaohsiung's 2000 factories gradually roar into motion--powered by a force of diligent workers and aggressive entrepreneurs who day by day propel Taiwan's economic growth.

The city's name was originally Takou, a transliteration of takal, an earth god the aborigines believed lived in the area. During the Japanese Occupation (1895-1945), Kaoshiung became a trade center for local agricultural produce. At that time the city had a small population and Kaohsiung Harbor was still a military port of only ten docks.

In 1954 Kaohsiung city was placed under the jurisdiction of the Taiwan Provincial Government. In 1949, the Central Government of the ROC stepped up construction of the city, and Kaohsiung has been growing rapidly ever since. In 1976 the population of the city reached one million. Thus, three years later it was named a Special Municipality--a city under the direct jurisdiction of the Executive Yuan.

As the result of a 12-Year Expansion Plan which began in 1958, Kaohsiung Harbor is now one of the world's ten largest harbors, boasting over eighty docks and the largest containership terminal in the Far East. Two-thirds of the raw material and manufactured goods which enter and leave Taiwan pass through Kaohsiung.

Kaohsiung Harbor is wide and deep, making it an ideal trade port, crucial to a nation whose economy is based on international commerce. As commerce and industry go hand in hand, Kaohsiung is also the site of free China's largest industrial enterprises, providing jobs for those in the neighboring districts of Kaohsiung, P'ingtung and P'enghu.

Kaohsiung's mayor Hsu Shui-teh explains that the city has greatly benefitted from government plans for economic development in the past thirty years. Combined with the united efforts of the local population, this has made Kaohsiung the booming city it is today.

Kaohsiung covers an area as large as Taipei, but its population is only half as large. A relatively new metropolis, many areas of the city are still under construction. In Kaohsiung one finds a flavorful blend of rural and metropolitan: ancient three-wheeled carts crossing modern speedways, traditional boats alongside modern containerships.

The pioneer entrepreneurs who forged modern Kaohsiung were ambitious and adventurous. Most moved into the city and started from scratch, achieving success by their own wits and determination. Such a man is T.H. Wang, better known as the 'Shipbreaking King'. When Wang first arrived in Kaohsiung from the mainland he was alone and penniless. He began working for a small steel company for about US$4.00 a month, and gradually learned the shipbreaking business.

Shipbreaking is a three to five month process whereby older ships are purchased and dismantled, the metal then rerolled into round and deformed bars for construction use. Shipbreaking involves a big gamble which can lead to high profits or great losses, depending upon the fluctuations of steel prices on the world market. It requires continual vigilance and foresight to predict market trends.

Fueled by the ambition of men like T.H. Wang, Kaohsiung is now the world's largest shipbreaking center, responsible for the dismantling of over half the world's dismantled vessels. Yet because shipbreaking is a labor-intensive enterprise, rising labor costs in Taiwan cause Chinese shipbreaking companies to feel competition from rivals in Korea and Singapore. The efficiency of Taiwan's over 10,000 well-trained workers compensates for the high cost of labor, Wang maintains. While a 30,000 ton ship can be dismantled in half a month in the ROC, the same job takes three months in Korea.

Another pioneering entrepreneur, Kuo Chen-lih is now the president of the Golden Peacock Silk and Satin Company. At the age of sixteen, Kuo went to Kaohsiung and found work as a clerk in a textile store. He later set up a sidewalk stand and saved enough money to open his own store. Today a well-to-do Kuo recollects the comradery between the early entrepreneurs, most of whom had no family support. As a result, they relied on friends. The business community of Kaohsiung has since been characterized by a tight network of friendships.

Many of Kaohsiung's ambitious citizens came from outlying areas to forge their fortunes in the city. Given over to speculating on their unforeseeable futures, this group supported the growth of a now thriving enterprise--fortune-telling.

The most famous and successful of Kaohsiung's many fortunetellers is Tai Hsun-yang. A graduate of Fu Jen University, he studied the I-Ching and pu kua in college and discovered a ready market for his talents in Kaohsiung. Tai makes a unique request of his customers--that they leave a phone number so he may contact them at a later date to confirm the accuracy of his predictions.

While the more adventurous come to Kaohsiung to start their own businesses, a larger segment of the population is made up of some 300,000 workers who have come to Kaohsiung to seek employment. Including family members, this group accounts for half of Kaohsiung's total population.

The first great immigration of workers occurred in 1966, with the establishment of Kaohsiung's government--planned Export Processing Zones. Under the auspices of the Ministry of Economic Affairs, all export factories in these zones enjoy low taxes and other investment incentives, and are allowed to import machinery and raw materials duty free. The zones have been successful in creating job opportunities, promoting foreign trade, and bringing foreign capital and modern technology into Taiwan.

The second major immigration of workers occurred in the seventies, with the development of heavy industry and oil refineries. Today, the Chinese Petroleum Corporation's Kaohsiung Refinery, producing 470,000 barrels per day, is considered large by world standards. Much of the refinery's output remains in the area, consumed by neighboring plants of the China Shipbuilding Corp., the China Steel Corp., Taiwan Machinery Manufacturing Corp., and a number of cement manufacturers.

Kaohsiung industries, particularly in the EPZ's, are now upgrading production from a labor intensive to a capital intensive and technology intensive process. A good example of this trend is the Kaiyin Electronics Company. Originally established by the British to produce stereo equipment, it has recently begun to manufacture computer terminals, and has opened its own R and D department.

In its growth from a poor agricultural village to a modern industrial city, from a labor to a capital intensive industrial economic base, Kaohsiung is a mirror of Taiwan's overall economic development.

Kaohsiung has paid a price for its industrial boom. Further growth of heavy industry will only add to the city's considerable problems with air and water pollution. The government has already instituted bans on waste dumping and plans to help factories eliminate public hazards. Construction of a modern sewage collection system and the dredging of the polluted Love River is also underway.

The government is cracking down on graft and tax evasion, and halting the spread of illegal entertainment districts which are patronized by the city's high percentage of uneducated manual laborers. Mayor Hsu has implemented measures to increase the city's cultural offerings and provide more recreational and welfare facilities. Perhaps the greatest progress has been made in the area of social welfare. The Kaohsiung Department of Social Affairs provides jobs for unemployed laborers, and public health services and activities centers for youths, workers and the aged.

Kaohsiung's growth is not finished. An undersea tunnel which links the Chichin peninsula to Kaohsiung proper is near completion. The addition of eight new docks and another containership terminal to Kaohsiung Harbor will stimulate overall city expansion. With the joint efforts of new entrepreneurs, the government and the workers, prospects are good for maintaining and augmenting Kaohsiung's present affluence and industrial sophistication.

(Jill Ardourel)

[Picture Caption]

1. Kaohsiung is the largest city in southern Taiwan. The Love River which runs through the center of the city is flanked on both sides by tall buildings. 2. Kaohsiung Harbor is Taiwan's largest harbor, and boasts the world's fifth largest containership terminal.

1. An electronics company in the Export Processing Zone uses automated facilities to make electric circuit plates. 2. The Workers Activities Center has womens' dormitories, which all of Kaohsiung's women workers are eligible to apply for. 3. Workers Park has a swimming pool for the city's inhabitants. 4. Workers headed for their jobs in the Export Processing Zones in the early morning. 5. Kaohsiung's avenues are broad and spacious. Some are divided by tree-lined sidewalks. 6. Initiated by the Kaohsiung city government, this bulletin board provides information about the city's cultural events. 7. A view of the Kaohsiung City Council building.

1.2.4. Three of Kaohsiung's large government-run factories: The China Shipbuilding Corporation. (1) The China Steel Corporation. (2) The T'angjung Iron Corporation. (4) 3. Industrious workers are the force which powers Kaohsiung's progress. 5. Shipbreaking is one of Kaohsiung's major industries. Shown is a worker dismantling a ship's steel shell. 6. Dense high-rise buildings overlook the city.

1. A small roadside fan stand. 2. A scenic view of the Spring and Autumn Pavilion. 3. The childrens' library in the basement of the Chiang Kai-Shek Cultural Center provides a pleasant reading atmosphere. 4. A view of the Confucian Temple. 5. The Chiang Kai-Shek Cultural Center is Kaohsiung city's main center for the arts. Numerous cultural activities are staged there every year. 6. Orchid Lake is one of Kaohsiung's scenic spots.

1. Trees and fountains beautify the face of the city. 2. In the early morning, Shoushan Park is filled with people exercising. 3. Kaohsiung has a number of modern shopping centers. 4. The Hsize shore is an ideal spot for couples 5. Taiwan's first undersea tunnel is already in use. 6. In the afternoon Kaohsiung's senior citizens gather in together a pavilion to read stories.

Kaohsiung city at night, illuminated by lights: 1. The Tat'ung Department Store. 2. A night market at Liuho Street.

2. Kaohsiung Harbor is Taiwan's largest harbor, and boasts the world's fifth largest containership terminal.

1. An electronics company in the Export Processing Zone uses automated facilities to make electric circuit plates.

2. The Workers Activities Center has womens' dormitories, which all of Kaohsiung's women workers are eligible to apply for.

3. Workers Park has a swimming pool for the city's inhabitants.

4. Workers headed for their jobs in the Export Processing Zones in the early morning.

5. Kaohsiung's avenues are broad and spacious. Some are divided by tree-lined sidewalks.

6. Initiated by the Kaohsiung city government, this bulletin board provides information about the city's cultural events.

7. A view of the Kaohsiung City Council building.

1.2.4. Three of Kaohsiung's large government-run factories: The China Shipbuilding Corporation. （1） The China Steel Corporation.

（2） The T'angjung Iron Corporation.

（4） 3. Industrious workers are the force which powers Kaohsiung's progress.

（4） 3. Industrious workers are the force which powers Kaohsiung's progress.

5. Shipbreaking is one of Kaohsiung's major industries. Shown is a worker dismantling a ship's steel shell.

6. Dense high-rise buildings overlook the city.

1. A small roadside fan stand.

2. A scenic view of the Spring and Autumn Pavilion.

3. The childrens' library in the basement of the Chiang Kai-Shek Cultural Center provides a pleasant reading atmosphere.

4. A view of the Confucian Temple.

5. The Chiang Kai-Shek Cultural Center is Kaohsiung city's main center for the arts. Numerous cultural activities are staged there every year.

6. Orchid Lake is one of Kaohsiung's scenic spots.

1. Trees and fountains beautify the face of the city.

4. The Hsize shore is an ideal spot for couples.

2. In the early morning, Shoushan Park is filled with people exercising.

3. Kaohsiung has a number of modern shopping centers.

5. Taiwan's first undersea tunnel is already in use.

6. In the afternoon Kaohsiung's senior citizens gather in together a pavilion to read stories.

Kaohsiung city at night, illuminated by lights: 1. The Tat'ung Department Store.

2. A night market at Liuho Street.