Does Cycling Leisure Suit Taiwan's Urban Centers?

The China Post has a couple of timely articles in regard to cycling and Taiwan's bicycle culture.

The first is an editorial, I presume, timed to coincide with this weekend's Taipei Cycle expo. With the paper's pro-KMT leanings, I would also presume the paper seeks to help validate government transportation and recreation policies involving the bicycle.

Weaving through traffic with cycling tights on and headphones blaring, the newest generation of bicycle riders is a unique breed of athletes who are starting to be taken seriously by the government.

After renovating old train tracks and abandoned roads into bike routes, local authorities have been doing everything they can to accommodate the adventure-seeking residents, as is the case with Taipei, which now operates “supply stations” in the city's riverside parks.

The Taipei City Government also announced last year the expansion of its public commuter bicycle rental system, YouBike (微笑單車), to infrequent riders who want to wander into the busy Xinyi District.

The growing interest for the Tour de Taiwan (國際自由車環台公路大賽), which will span from March 10 to 16 from Taipei to Kaohsiung, further illustrates how government authorities have been successfully promoting Taiwan as a “kingdom of bicycles.”

In many ways, the attention Taiwan has given to bicycle infrastructure is laudable in light of other, industrialized nations which will remain anonymous, that continue to fund an automotive lifestyle.

There are a few things I would like to take issue with. I hope my highlights above may be of some assistance.

The bulk of this article deals with the great investment Taiwan's central and local governments have made in recreational cycling. As a recreational cyclist I benefit from some of these investments. I will admit that.

But that opening sentence really strikes a nerve. "Weaving through traffic...". This is where Taiwan's investment has been a bust.

With so much invested in recreational cycling, there is precious little remaining for cycling as utility and urban transportation. The current state of affairs has commuters locked in a daily battle against Taiwan's notoriously chaotic traffic. There is little space being made to incorporate bicycles into the city. I shout this again and again.

The bicycle is a revolutionary machine (pardon the pun). It is a symbol of proletarian mobility all around the world. The bicycle has given people a means to leave the farms, villages and countrysides to find work further afield. Moreover, the bicycle has been a tool for women's liberation all over the world.

The idea of the bike is a very proletarian concept--self propelled transport with minimal investment.

Taiwan's emphasis on the bike for recreation and leisure with far flung bike ways, which are often removed from the urban centers where people live and work, seems to subvert this idea into reserving the bicycle for use as an elitist toy. Without creating space in the cities for bikes as traffic, Taiwan's government limits its use as a tool of mobility for everyone.

Of all the bike accidents I have seen in Taiwan, I would estimate that 90% have been old women on steel bikes making a grocery run.

It might be time to rein in the development of the leisurely rural trails until the urban centers can start to catch up.

Though, as Taiwan markets itself as a virtual "kingdom" of bicycles, I don't imagine that power structure is really interested in the proletarian possibilities the bicycle can offer.

___________________________

The second article deals with a Sun Moon Lake biking event scheduled for April 29.

Registration is now open for the 2012 Merida Sun Moon Lake Biking event on the Merida website (http://www.merida.com.tw). Three routes are open to a total of 4,000 participants — the family leisure course, the around-the-lake course, and the self-challenge course. In addition to receiving unique souvenirs from the Merida, participants will be granted various accommodation and dining discounts in the Sun Moon Lake area.

The self-challenge course, which measures to a total of 60 kilometers, is organized along the most picturesque Sun Moon Lake sites, where bikers can enjoy the quietness of rural sceneries while pushing for one's limits.

This is a very good look at how the bicycle industry is working with the tourism industry to drive sales. This is who really stands to benefit from the government's push for leisure cycling infrastructure projects.

With 4000 participants converged on Sun Moon Lake, combined with the weekend supply of busses hauling Chinese tourists around the perimeter, I can truly imagine enjoying the "quietness of rural sceneries" while pushing my limits. Pass.

Taiwan's Bicycle Tourism... What's Next?

Joyce Enjoys Riding The Roads

Jack Becker, the Director of the 2012 Velo-City Conference, is in town to attend the Bicycle-Environment Friendly City Conference at the Chung-hua University in Hsin-chu, where he presented on cycling tourism. Check his blog for some early impressions: HERE

This got me thinking of a little something I just read from Ryan Anderson over at Savage Minds, the Anthropology blog. Anderson writes:

I often wonder about the future of places like Las Vegas, Cancun, and Nakheel, especially since many international organizations (like the UNWTO) promote tourism development as a sustainable, surefire solution for socio-economic development. What will Vegas–or Cancun–look like in 100 years? What purpose will these places serve, and how sustainable will they actually be in the long run?

Many countries around the world continue to promote and finance ever more tourism development, in hopes that these investments will create long-lasting social and economic benefits. At least, that’s how the narrative goes. But what kinds of social spaces and places are being created under the guise of tourism, and what futures do these places face? What are the lasting social, political, and economic effects of these spaces?

Yes, what will become of these tourism bikeways and their infrastructure once the Chinese have biked them and gone home?

• Taiwan's government now offers a downloadable e-book to help tourists and cyclists navigate Taiwan. I fear this will be ripe for misuse, but hope it could be of help.

Also:

Congrats to all the RAAM finishers and competitors. Still, you're no Jure Robic!

Big Brother Inc. Taiwan's Tourism Bureau... Working For You?

Cycling in Taiwan is just one of the many portals Taiwan's government is using to promote recreational cycling and bicycle tourism in Taiwan. Although this site was posted a few years ago (2008), it is still relevant and many riders may still find some of the information valuable.

The contents of the site detail five short bike routes and it provides information on transportation, rentals, tourist sites, local fare and route descriptions--things casual riders might appreciate.

This may not be ideal for many of Taiwan's recreational riders who have pushed local cycling culture and expectations far beyond the leisurely routes the Tourism Bureau has listed, but for occasional day trippers and families who decide to simply go for a ride without investing in the cycling lifestyle, this could be very helpful.

On the other side of the coin this site raises some difficult questions regarding the links between the role of government, the interests of private enterprise, and the best interests of the citizen consumer.

Aside from the expected information regarding transportation and tourism services provided by the government, this government run site also uses this space to promote selected businesses. A visitor is directed to links and information for a few select private businesses, hotels and bicycle resources.

" Full House

Located at the Dehua Village Wharf, this 10-room resort hotel commands an unobstructed view of Sun Moon Lake.

The log-cabin style hotel is decorated with oil paintings by the owner. High-ceilinged hallways, soft light, soothing music, and finely crafted wood furniture complete the feeling of simple elegance at this scenic retreat."

In the interest of fairness and transparency, the question should be asked how these businesses, amid many others, were able to be chosen for government promotion and what, if any type of benefits or services, were exchanged quid pro quo.

For almost each route the Taiwan Tourism Bureau advertises for a Giant retailer. Are there any other bicycle shops or rental facilities in the area? How might I get a business listed by the Taiwan Tourism Bureau? How are these routes being planned and selected for promotion? If I owned a business in the area would they promote me?

I have detailed my understanding of the problem HERE.

The need for clarity is a significant point of concern as the chairman of Giant, King Liu, is also a special advisor to President Ma Ying-jiu regarding bicycle infrastructure projects. Although it is not uncommon for governments and private enterprise to cooperate, this relationship begs for the government to embrace greater transparency in its planning and coordination of cycling routes as King Liu's primary responsibility is to the shareholders of Giant Manufacturing Co. Ltd. and not necessarily to the interests of the private citizen.

If we look at other major bicycle projects like Seattle's Burke Gilman Trail, which is maintained by the Seattle Dept. of Parks and Recreation, or in Oregon, the Portland Bureau of Transportation bike trail system, the scope remains squarely on public services and citizen safety rather than providing advertising space for private enterprise.

Although the government might mean well, there are serious ethnical considerations that must be addressed when government and enterprise decide to ride tandem.

Chinese State Media Sells Cycling Tourism in Taiwan

The state owned broadcaster and English language propaganda outlet, Chinese Radio International, has released an interesting story promoting Bicycle tourism in Taiwan.

After several days on the road in Taiwan, I've came to realize that the charm of this far-flung island lies not only in its landscape and scenery, but also its people.

The opening sentence above immediately frames Taiwan as the exoticized and fetishized object of desire. This island that is supposed to rest snugly in the bosom on the "motherland" is perceived as "far flung". Furthermore, "its people" firmly locates Taiwanese as "other". Had the author followed traditional protocol they would have been "us" or "our compatriots".

I have met many fellow travelers throughout the journey, most of whom are Taiwan locals who try to enjoy themselves away from the hustle and bustle in Taipei. Some of them even settled in the countryside of eastern Taiwan, making a living by managing shops selling coffee, travel souvenirs, and commodities of various kinds.

A Du is one of these self-employed travelers. He sells bicycles in his shop and works as a local guide leading tourists on bicycle tours into the rural country roads in his spare time. A Du has his own theory of discovering the beauty of Taiwan. He suggests his customers see Taiwan from a different perspective, even if it means you have to lie down on the ground and listen to the trucks whooping by.

Despite the ambiguity of the term, "Taiwan locals", the author goes on to fixate on this period of "contact" between "one" and the exoticized "other". In an oddly foreboding tone Taiwanese are described in ways that echo earlier European colonial enterprises that filled volumes on the "strangeness" of the natives.

Wang Yuping, the owner of a lifestyle studio in Hualien, also shares A Du's attitude towards traveling. She operates a café shop where tourists can find an array of local travel information. The former Taipei dweller brings groups of travelers to visit ethnic families in Taiwan so as to offer them an in-depth view of Taiwan's culture.

The term "ethnic families" is used to gloss over the troublesome topic of Taiwan's indigenous population and align them more closely with China's own ethnic construction of minzu, a term borrowed from Japanese nationalism to define human populations in terms of "race". The author sidesteps the thorny issue of who these "ethnic people" are while by proxy maintaining the Chinese nationalist belief that its modernist Han construct is not "ethnic".

Entrepreneurs also have their eye on the expanding travel market in rural Taiwan. Zhang Qinglai spent ten years establishing a holiday resort in Yilan, which invites tourists to experience life on a ranch. He named his ranch "Shangri-La," in dedication to the peaceful and carefree lifestyle he wished the ranch could offer.

I think this is just funny in that it references "Shangri-la", the name for the fictive Himalayan paradise of Tibetan lore.

As Taiwan plans to allow individual mainland tourists to travel to the island this year, backpacking and independent traveling is also becoming a trend within the island. What's more, I believe the bounty of Taiwan's travel resources are in the lesser-known countryside.

The way China officially conceives its relationship with Taiwan and the way that relationship is actually conducted are entirely different things.

Beyond that, I have to wonder who the intended audience is for this article. It is wonderfully written in readable English and I suppose it is intended for "Overseas Chinese" and therefore the foreign audience may affect the content.

Lastly, with China's state media getting into the act it signals the importance tourism plays in China's own goals for Taiwan.

What I do see is more Chinese discovering Taiwan for its particularity and having to come to terms with its differences.

Food for thought.

Also:

CENS declares Taiwanese bicycle export value has increased 10%