China's Iron Horse: PRC Deploys Giant To Scare Victory For Ma

In a follow-up piece to the Big Bike pre election rally for the incumbent, Ma Ying-jiu, Bicycle Retailer offers up another cheerleading piece for the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT).

Taiwan’s manufacturers will benefit from a stable cross-strait relationship, said Tony Lo, chairman of the Taiwan Bicycle Exporters Association and CEO of Giant, the island and the industry’s leading frame maker.

“Taiwan’s high-end bike export to China has grown 87 percent in 2011. It could double again in 2012. This will have a positive influence of the transformation of the Chinese bike market toward recreational and sport in the future,” Lo said in an e-mail.

Lo cited Ma’s ECFA, or Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement, which eliminated duties on bikes shipped between Taiwan and China as of January 1. Since Ma signed the ECFA in June 2010—gradually reducing duties on bicycles and other consumer goods exported from Taiwan—the trade pact has already boosted business in China for Taiwan manufacturers like Giant, Merida and rim maker Alex Global.

I think what is important and puzzling to note is that the DPP challenger, Tsai Ing-wen, gave absolutely no indication of repealing ECFA, nor did she indicate anything other than continued business relationships with China. Without the Chinese Nationalist ideology, Tsai's platform actually appeared more pragmatic and tenable for the long term.

So why is cross strait economic stability continually at stake in Taiwan's democratic election cycles?

Simple... It is not.

This is a fantastic example of some of the levers China uses to influence Taiwan's democratic elections.

The only party which can elect to create instability in the economic relations between Taiwan and China... is China. Taiwanese politicians of any stripe gain nothing from poor economic relations with any state, let alone China. China's "anger" is a strategic device. Now, rather than negotiating against diverging interests, Taiwan is reduced to negotiating against the mercurial device of China's potential anger-- a device with no clear definitions or triggers.

So why would China imply it might consider punitive action should its chosen candidate (Ma) not be elected?

The answer would be that China's economic relationships with Taiwan are not designed to be purely economic and in the interest of creating a better business environment, but they also come tainted by China's political designs for Taiwan, which it seeks to annex as part of a greater strategic program of regional economic and territorial expansion.

Ma Ying-jiu makes the perfect foil for Beijing as he also harbors beliefs in Taiwan as a political and cultural dependency of China and therefore, politically, makes sense to Beijing as the candidate who will best cooperate in bringing China's plans to fruition.

Gaint's Tony Lo simply exemplifies how Taiwanese businesses in China can allow themselves to become pawns of a much larger, more dangerous game.

For a long-time observer, it is a little sad seeing a company that has risen on the back of Taiwanese pride, allow itself to be used as a political lever against Taiwanese democracy.

Cart...Horse: Giant Promotes Bicycle Touring Without Touring Bikes

Giant Global has just formally launched a new division dedicated to promoting bicycle tourism in Taiwan and around the globe. According to the press release:

Giant Global has formally launched its bike touring division, called Giant Adventure. The Taiwan-based travel agency will help individuals and groups plan bicycle tours in Taiwan and overseas, according to a newsletter circulated by the Taiwan External Trade Development Council, the same group that organizes Taipei Cycle.

Giant expects the new business to enhance brand image and grow its customer base. Its target revenue for 2012 is $3.3 million, the report said.

Giant has had plans to be a player in tourism for several years; in 2009, the company told the Taipei Times it would launch a travel agency to promote bike tourism in the island nation among residents and foreigners. Plans were to start trips to some of Taiwan’s most picturesque mountainous and eastern cycling routes including Hualien sto Sincheng and Alishan to Sun Moon Lake, as well as Kenting—the southernmost tip of the island—Yilan and Kinmen, a Taiwan-held islet off China’s southeast coast.

One of my major peeves with Giant is the lack of any true touring bike in their line. Giant is very keen to promote leisure cycling with very little interest in bikes for touring or commuting--bikes with typically lower margins. Instead, the company seems intent on making tourers make an unnecessary choice between road racing bikes, flat-bar mountain bikes/XC bikes, or city hybrids. None of these bikes are optimal for touring. So when I first saw this headline for Giant Adventure, I was interested. I thought they had discovered what I had been seeing all along. (I'll never forget the frustration in asking a Giant retailer to show me a touring bike... priceless)

Now, let me just clarify my thoughts. I know many readers tour on all kinds of bikes. A purpose-built tourer should be a drop-bar road frame (preferably steel) with rack and fender mounts. It should have a longer wheelbase for stability, long chainstays for comfort and foot clearance, and be more upright for comfort over long distance in the saddle. These features are optimized for touring... not forcing the rider to make sacrifices. The Surly Long Haul Trucker is an excellent example of this type of bike-- a bike that is completely missing from the Giant road catalogue.

How can they hope to properly promote touring, when they don't offer a touring bike...WTF?