Kaohsiung is famous for its seaport. The post has a history that goes back to the Chien Fon year of the Ching dynasty. During the Japanese colonial period, it was the important port for the cane sugar business. After the restoration, the massive amount of business and industrial developments here lead Taiwan to become the world's economic miracle. Accompanied by the changes of the overall environment and world situations, Kaohsing has encountered the competition pressures from the growing seaports of the neighboring countries. The city is urgently needed to make a transform in its industrial types and to solve problems such as the uneven urban developing situations. The future developments of Kaohsing, are like the combinations of a turning magic square; the opportunities are numerous and full of possibilities. (For the following article, The Mayor of Kaohsiung city government, Frank Hsieh is abridged as Hsieh; the Dialogue architecture magazine editor-in-chief, Genek k. king is abridged as King.)

King: With regards to the humanities and natural conditions, how can one provide Kaohsiung with a future outlook embodying its own distinct characteristics?

Hsieh: Well, as for urban planning, we see ourselves becoming "an Ocean Capital," which includes three primary facets. First, we hope to make the ocean an integral part of our city. When one looks at the Taiwanese urban centers, there are very few places that successfully combine the river, port, and the ocean as its core. I suppose this is a good starting point to develop Kaohsiung's uniqueness. Currently, we are opening up many fenced in plots of land and discarded areas. For example, we are converting the area next to Xinguang Rd. into a port area for yachts. We will employ many light effects to create a beautiful night scene of differing water reflections, called the "River-Ocean Co-construction Project." This plan will enable to convert many old factories and warehouses into an important visual aspect of the cultural night scene. The old power tower will even be redesigned as the "Tower of Light!" Secondly, we hope to create a "capital-class" lifestyle, which is to create an environment where everyone has a good life, job and a sense of ecology. We are trying to combine the traditional industry and culture by promoting public art and more significant architecture throughout the city. This year, we held an international steel sculpture festival, as well as an international container art festival. Through these various events we are trying to provide the more rigid industries with a little culture. In the future we plan to build an indoor baseball field and an international conference center, in order to raise the quality of living. Finally, we are putting a bit of international wisdom into this liberal port. Kaohsiung is known as one of the top centers of ocean fishing industry; therefore, besides its national status for a high quality of life, Kaohsiung also plays an important role in trading and economics. Since we are situated near the ocean, we are orienting our goals to become a port of international wisdom and liberal values. This will be a source of multi-cultural inputs ranging from information, electronics, modernity and the international. We see ourselves as centers of operation, goods exchange, the combination of air and sea transportation, processing manufacture, also as the pivot point of the future transportation of the Taiwan Strait, and the external cargo transferring port.

King: Take for instance, Japan's Osaka and Tokyo, Korea's Pusan and Seoul, and Rotterdam and Amsterdam of the Netherlands, all of these countries have two metropolitan centers. In each of these cases, one city is the political and cultural center, while the other is the hub of international transportation.

Hsieh: In the past, leaders developed Taiwan with a single core. Taipei played multiple roles as a political, economic, and cultural city. In the long run, however, this type of development proved to be much too unbalanced, and ultimately dangerous. Recently, Taiwan has gradually developed into a two-core system, the politics in the North, and the economics in the South.

King: In what ways do the human expression of Kaohsiung differ from Taipei's?

Hsieh: First and foremost is the element of ocean culture that manifests itself in the variety, inclusiveness, adventure and creativity of our city. Because the development of heavy industry in the past had blocked the citizens to access to the ocean, therefore, the characteristics associated with it gradually disappeared. There are, however, some residents, in districts like Chichin, where people are keeping the ocean culture alive. I have even heard of one family composed of six different races of people in Chichin district. Secondly, we are able to keep the traditional Taiwanese culture alive. Kaohsiung, unlike Taipei, is affected by the Chinese palace culture to a lesser degree; we are better able to preserve the Taiwanese ocean culture. In some ways, Kaohsiung can access the progress of the world without having to see it through the Chinese cultural lens. It can communicate with the outside world on its own terms and conditions. This is the main cultural and philosophical difference between these two regions.

King: Recently, I have been reading some books dealing with the issue of "core and periphery," and have discovered that it may be harder for a core area to have a progressive and developing space.

Hsieh: Think about the regions of development in China, like Shanghai, Qingdao, and Hong Kong, who have long experienced colonization and open trade. A city must open up to the world first, and only then will the developing forces come. This kind of opportunity has presented itself to the people of Kaohsiung.

King: Lately, we have been discussing that perhaps Taiwan should be modeling herself after Switzerland and Holland. Both of these countries have mixed ethnicities and languages in a small geographical area, yet they continue to search out a new definition of identification. Their national development is also quite prosperous.

Hsieh: There is no such thing as a good or a bad culture. There are only those who progress quickly, and those who are slow, these characteristics separate them. Sorghum culture molds a sense of rigidity in the hearts of people, while the ocean culture seems to be much more outgoing, and the loess plateau culture creates a permanent sense to keep the tradition. In early Taiwanese history we witness a similar phenomena; some places were called "water flowing villages." This type of environmental condition has produced toughness in these people to face their living difficulties, and encouraged the outwardly developing idea.

King: Since industry seems to be an essential force, how do you perceive Kaohsiung's industrial position?

Hsieh: In the 1960s, Kaohsiung helped bring prosperity to Taiwanese economics. Since Kaohsiung was a large port and the government had no long-term arrangements, all materials were imported into Kaohsiung. Therefore, the Chinese Petroleum Corp., the China Steel Corp., and the Taiwan Power Company established their factories here and helped develop the Kaohsiung petrochemical industry. Of course, environmental protection and labor concentration will produce some changes. If we have an immediate deindustrialization, however, there will be even more negative repercussions. Therefore, we must be very careful to deal with all these issues. We are currently prohibiting any industries that are heavy polluters, and have set up four directions for industrial development. First, in accordance with the Administrative Bureau's tourism industry promotion plan for 2008, we will create new scenic spots and cooperate better with surrounding counties. Second, we are encouraging low pollution, high-tech industries to maintain the southern elite class. There is a design for a software construction park in the works, and we are seeking a chance to build a biotechnology park and chip technology center in Kaohsiung. Third, leaders are encouraging Kaohsiung to become a goods transportation center. Due to our advantageous position as a maritime, air, and land transportation hub, we plan to make Kaohsiung the obvious choice for collecting and distributing customs. Yangming and Taiwan Sugar have already agreed to our plan, we simply await the opening of the Strait. Finally, we plan to impose further restrictions on the heavy polluting, traditional industries. Since some of these companies plan to shut down their previous ventures, we need to assure them that the value of the industrial space will be maintained. If some of the companies desire to create new industries, we must communicate the changes with the populace. As a manufacturing and exporting center we can proceed to promote our services abroad. We can also invest our techniques of production, like bicycles and electric fans, in developing countries, like Indonesia, Panama, and Vietnam. In this way we can compete with China and keep the technological investments of Taiwan alive.

King: Taipei people, who live in between the gaps of alleys and lanes, cannot sense the large scale of Kaohsing city and port. The city has many discarded factories and unused spaces; the Chinese Steel plate pressing plant room is one of them. Great opportunities can be produced if to reorganize or reuse these places.

Hsieh: True. These places are the focal points where we have been creating the new opportunities. I lived in Taipei for 50 years, and have only lived in Kaohsing for six. I discover that the changes in Taipei are not so big, but one can make significant differences in Kaohsing if one spends efforts to help make up the city, and the rewarding accomplishment feeling is higher, too. Of course, it is more difficult to change Taipei since the developments have gone on a refined trend. The changes in Kaohsing have been more significant and interesting in these few years. It was kind of dull when I just arrived in Kaohsing six years ago. The place did not have the political city scale like Taipei, and was unexciting and boring. I always have the feeling that a port city should be a romantic place, not just a "place where men goes drinking at night, while women and children have no where to go." Now, it is different. The cleaning up of the original dirty stinky Love River and Chinchen River, increased many activity places for the citizens. The nearby Chinchen fish market has also become the new tourist attraction. Other than that, there is also the renovation of making the discarded electric tower into a lighting tower for the culture night. Without leaving a trace, little by little, people's feeling of a "home" has been rediscovered. I also like to improve the living quality of the south district of Kaohsing city. The residents in this district are mostly the moved in immigrants during the booming period of time. For their living needs, the residents had built various illegal sheds or simple shelters. I would like to renew this district, to create a new living environment and urban space. Previously I went to Brisbane for a trip Local people said, "Originally, this was a dirty messy place that no one would like to go, after the rectification renew project by the mayor, it became very clean and very beautiful." I thought this was also my expectation for my own efforts in Kaohsiung. [Translated by Jonathan Pettit & Su-yi Wen]

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