North–South divide in Taiwan

Overview of the uneven distribution of resources in Taiwan

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Taipei, the capital city of Taiwan

In Taiwan, the North–South divide (Chinese: 重北輕南; pinyin: Zhòng Běi Qīng Nán; lit. 'Heavy North', 'Light South') refers to the claimed uneven distribution of resources in regard to political, wealth, medical, economic development, education, and other aspects across Taiwan over past decades that has drawn the social and cultural differences between Northern Taiwan and Southern Taiwan.[1][2]

## Development

[edit]

The divide has often been attributed to government bias. Following its defeat by the Chinese Communist Party in the Chinese Civil War and the Nationalists' subsequent flight from the Chinese mainland, the Kuomintang relocated its headquarters to Taipei in the north of Taiwan.[3][4]

Since the Nationalist government's retreat to Taiwan in 1949, the Kuomintang has held power for more than 60 years non-consecutively (1945–2000, 2008–2016), compared to the Democratic Progressive Party's 14 years (2000–2008, 2016–now). It is claimed that owing to the Kuomintang's long-standing bias, especially over the White Terror period, the gap between the north and the south in terms of social and economic development has gradually widened. The KMT was alleged to have concentrated investment in technological fields in its base in northern Taiwan, especially in Hsinchu and the Greater Taipei Metropolis area, while investment in the south of Taiwan was mainly in industry. As industry relocated to Mainland China over the past decades, leading to slower growth in southern Taiwan, there has been a brain drain of younger, college-educated Taiwanese from the south to the north where higher-paying service and technology industries are located.[5][6][7]

From 1990 to 1998, the Mayor of Kaohsiung, Wu Den-yih, frequently criticized the KMT-led central government for its bias in favor of the north and against the south.[8]

### Ethnic divisions

[edit]

See also: Demographics of Taiwan

Historical tensions within Taiwan between ethnics mainlanders, Hoklo, and Hakka groups factor into the north–south divide in Taiwan.[9][10][11]

### Taipei

[edit]

Tianlongguo (天龍國; 'Celestial Dragon Country', also Tianlong) is a pejorative term referring to Taipei residents' apparent nobility or aloofness. The term is based on the Celestial Dragon characters in the Japanese manga One Piece.[12]

## Differences

[edit]

### Political alignment

[edit]

2012 Taiwanese presidential election results

Kuomintang candidate

Democratic Progressive Party candidate

Traditionally, southwestern voters have favored pan-green parties such as the Democratic Progressive Party while northern voters prefer pan-blue ones such as Kuomintang.[13][14] "Most outlets in Taiwan are either aligning themselves with the pan-Green camp that traditionally supports Taiwan's independence or the pan-Blue camp that traditionally advocates Taiwan's unification with China", said a Swedish reporter in Taipei.[15]

The data of historical elections show a divide between urban versus rural voters, and northern versus southern Taiwanese.[16][17] For instance, voters from municipalities in northern Taiwan were more inclined to support same-sex marriage legalization. Among the top ten cities in favor of same-sex marriage were the far northern cities of Taipei, New Taipei, Hsinchu, and Keelung.[17]

### Landform

[edit]

See also: Geography of Taiwan

Northern Taiwan accounts for just about 20% of the total area of Taiwan but hosts virtually half of Taiwanese population, implying Taiwanese people are disproportionately concentrated in northern Taiwan,[18][19] leading to problems of overpopulation and slow growth of regions other than northern Taiwan.[20]

An article published in a demographic and land economics journal by National Chengchi University suggested that the reasons for the high housing prices in the northern region are mainly due to the government's long-standing economic policy of favoring the north over the south, the high concentration of population in metropolitan areas, and the scarcity of major construction projects providing employment opportunities in the south. [5] The article argues that this has led people to pursue real estate in an area of land with limited supply due to geographic reasons, as there is more mountain, high land, and Table (landform) than plain in the northern part of Taiwan.[5]

### Population

[edit]

As people in Taiwan have continued to migrate to northern Taiwan, the number of seats in the Legislative Yuan in Taiwan representing northern Taiwanese has risen. Many worry about this deepening the unequal pace of development between the more urbanized northern Taiwan and the rural south.[21]

### Life expectancy

[edit]

Residents in the northern part of Taiwan generally live longer than those in the south. Hsinchu and Taipei areas enjoyed highest life expectancy over the average of 80 years old.[22]

Tainan and Kaohsiung, two major cities in southern Taiwan, had average life expectancy below 80 years old while other major cities in central Taiwan and northern Taiwan such as Taichung, Taoyuan, New Taipei, Taipei, Hsinchu all had the average life expectancy above 80.[22] This is thought to result from disparities in factors like access to medical resources, quality of life, personal fitness and others.[22][23][24][25]

According to the scholars' statistics, there are 12 medical schools in Taiwan as of 2019 and over one-half of them are located in northern Taipei, implying that medical services and education available in Taiwan are disproportionately concentrated in northern Taiwan. In 2018, of the 400 physicians graduating per year, only 32 of them opted to work in Kaohsiung. This exposed a severe inequality in medical service capacity between northern and southern Taiwan.[26] "The central government hasn't even hosted any public-funded medical school across Kaohsiung, Pingtung, Penghu and Taitung yet!", said the dean of National Sun Yat-sen University in 2019.[26]

According to Journal of Thoracic Oncology, the occurrence of lung cancer in southern Taiwan is now 15 times greater than that in northern Taiwan, which contributes to southern Taiwan's shorter life expectancy.[27][28]

### Education opportunity

[edit]

Over half of the enrollees of National Taiwan University come from Taipei City and New Taipei City.[29]

## See also

[edit]

* Global North and Global South
* Northern and southern China

## References

[edit]

1. ^ 邱燕玲 (2 October 2010). "南北區域經濟發展嚴重失衡…政府重北輕南 立院籲正視 – 政治". 自由時報電子報 (in Chinese). Archived from the original on 23 December 2017. Retrieved 23 December 2017.
2. ^ 趙曉慧 (14 May 2015). "打破重北輕南 蔡英文：執政後3個月內 成立南台灣總統辦公室". Yahoo奇摩新聞、鉅亨網 (in Chinese). Archived from the original on 10 May 2018. Retrieved 23 December 2017. "打破重北輕南：民進黨2016年總統參選人蔡英文今(14)日到高雄參訪，她表示，希望能翻轉南部，變成下一個世代經濟發展的領頭羊，要擺脫「天龍國觀點」、「從台北看天下」，若能順利執政，將在3個月內成立南台灣總統辦公室，領導政府全力推動南部再生。 蔡英文表示，一旦民進黨重返執政，會將南北均衡發展，作為國土發展的首要政策；而且也將重新定位南台灣在國際分工的積極角色，至少有3個具體策略，可以用來發展南部的經濟。"
3. ^ 台北更獨 ／南綠北藍 另有真相. Liberty Times 自由時報. 20 November 2007. Archived from the original on 28 March 2016. Retrieved 10 January 2016. (in Chinese)
4. ^ "地政學訊". 國立政治大學 (in Chinese). 11 January 2014. Archived from the original on 17 December 2017. Retrieved 17 December 2017. "造成北部房價高漲原因，不外乎政府長期重北輕南之經濟政策"
5. ^ a b c "地政學訊". 國立政治大學 (in Chinese). 11 January 2014. Archived from the original on 17 December 2017. Retrieved 17 December 2017. "......然南北城鄉的租稅負擔更隱含租稅之不公平。舉例而言，根據本年 7、8 月份屏東市、台北市及高雄市於內政部房屋實價登錄網站資料，相同樓高及類似區段的大樓產品，成交總價分別為 320 萬元、3,100萬元及 512 萬元，平均單價則分別為每坪 58,000 元、708,000 元及 134,000元，如以房屋稅占分算房屋賣價之租稅負擔率分別為 0.39％、0.35％及0.31％，看似負擔率相當，但加計該負擔之地價稅後，情形便大不相同，租稅負擔率分別為 0.29％、005％及0.17％，顯示屏東縣民同樣擁有大樓房屋之租稅負擔率竟高於台北市或高雄市居民 6 倍及 2 倍，此種扭曲的不公平稅制實有違量能課稅之基本財稅理論，也是財政當局尤應正視之處。造成北部房價高漲原因，不外乎政府長期重北輕南之經濟政策，人口高度集中都會區，南部鮮少重大建設提供就業機會，自然使得多數人去競逐供給有限的不動產，尤其土地資源不可增加及不能挪移的特性，更推波助瀾這股沛然莫之能禦的漲勢。"
6. ^ Lin, Ji-Ping (28 February 2016). "Taiwan Temporary Workers and Labor Marginalization in the Context of Segmented Labor Market, 1991–2010". Arbor (secondary source). 192 (777). Departmento de Publicaciones del CSIC: a291. doi:10.3989/arbor.2016.777n1007. ISSN 1988-303X.
7. ^ Lin, Ji-Ping (24 January 2012). "Tradition and Progress: Taiwan's Evolving Migration Reality". migrationpolicy.org. Archived from the original on 3 October 2017. Retrieved 9 May 2018.
8. ^ 曾一豪; 賴宛靖 (1998). 吳敦義，為什麼 (in Chinese). Taipei: 希代. ISBN 957-811-262-9. "高雄市長任內，他依然秉持著一向的正義感，砲轟中央「重北輕南」的政策，頻頻為高雄人叫屈。短短幾年，他就為港都居民爭取到數十年來都爭不到的福祉，因而被喻為「南台灣建設的火車頭」或「喚醒南部意識抬頭的領航人」。"
9. ^ Affairs, Ministry of Foreign; (Taiwan), Republic of China (17 October 2019). "Taiwan's Marginalized South". Taiwan Today. Archived from the original on 17 October 2019. Retrieved 17 October 2019.
10. ^ "Regional divide, 'Yeltsin effect' concerns after Taiwan elections". FOCUS TAIWAN. 29 November 2010. Archived from the original on 20 October 2019. Retrieved 20 October 2019.
11. ^ Chang, Bi-yu (1 December 2004). "From Taiwanisation to De-sinification. Culture Construction in Taiwan since the 1990s". China Perspectives. 2004 (56). doi:10.4000/chinaperspectives.438. ISSN 2070-3449.
12. ^ Chung, Chiao (28 July 2012). "Free Taipei from 'celestial dragons'". Taipei Times. Translated by Eddy Chang. Archived from the original on 23 April 2020. Retrieved 14 April 2020.
13. ^ Fell, Dafydd (2006). Party Politics in Taiwan. Routledge. p. 85\. ISBN 978-1-134-24021-0.
14. ^ Achen, Christopher H.; Wang, T. Y. (2017). "The Taiwan Voter: An Introduction". In Achen, Christopher H.; Wang, T. Y. (eds.). The Taiwan Voter. University of Michigan Press. pp. 1–25. doi:10.3998/mpub.9375036. ISBN 978-0-472-07353-5. pp. 1–2.
15. ^ "Taiwan loses Asia's press-freedom top spot – but still pretty good". 18 May 2019. Archived from the original on 21 May 2019. Retrieved 14 November 2019.
16. ^ Jonathan Sullivan (2 November 2011). "The-geography-of-voting-patterns-in-taiwan". School of Politics & International Relations, University of Nottingham. Archived from the original on 9 November 2018. Retrieved 14 October 2019.
17. ^ a b Keoni Everington (28 November 2018). "Taiwan's same-sex marriage referendum res..." Taiwan News. Archived from the original on 14 October 2019. Retrieved 14 October 2019.
18. ^ "臺灣地區面積及海岸長度 – 內政統計年報". 中華民國內政部地政司. Archived from the original on 3 July 2015. Retrieved 16 October 2015.
19. ^ 林佳賢 (3 March 2016). "南北平衡？社會均富？3張圖看台灣南北面積、人口和經濟發展的比較". The News Lens 關鍵評論網 (in Chinese). Archived from the original on 9 January 2018. Retrieved 22 November 2019.
20. ^ 在胡寶林（1998）《都市生活的希望-人性都市與永續都市的未來》一書中，台北都會排名29，人口至1995年底約為6.2百萬。
21. ^ "DPP legislators slam electoral changes". Taipei Times. 14 October 2019. Archived from the original on 14 October 2019. Retrieved 14 October 2019.
22. ^ a b c "Average life expectancy in Taiwan hits new high of 80.7 years in 2018…". Focus Taiwan News Channel. 11 September 2019. Archived from the original on 14 October 2019. Retrieved 14 October 2019.
23. ^ 黃驛淵 (27 January 2020). "【病童救命路迢迢3】南部醫院不敢收換肝嬰 竟靠臉書po文才奇蹟獲救". Mirror Media (in Chinese). Archived from the original on 28 January 2020. Retrieved 28 January 2020.
24. ^ 黃驛淵 (27 January 2020). "【病童救命路迢迢1】為了活下去 罕病女童就醫路程已繞台灣180圈". Mirror Media (in Chinese). Archived from the original on 28 January 2020. Retrieved 28 January 2020.
25. ^ 黃驛淵 (27 January 2020). "【病童救命路迢迢2】護理師媽媽也沒輒 離開天龍國她只能自求多福". Mirror Media (in Chinese). Archived from the original on 28 January 2020. Retrieved 28 January 2020.
26. ^ a b 黃旭磊 (25 November 2019). "建商校友單筆捐款2億 中山大學將蓋醫學大樓 – 生活". 自由電子報 (in Chinese). Archived from the original on 26 December 2019. Retrieved 26 December 2019.
27. ^ Tseng, Chien-Hua; Tsuang, Ben-Jei; Chiang, Chun-Ju; Ku, Kai-Chen; Tseng, Jeng-Sen; Yang, Tsung-Ying; Hsu, Kuo-Hsuan; Chen, Kun-Chieh; Yu, Sung-Liang; Lee, Wen-Chung; Liu, Tsang-Wu; Chan, Chang-Chuan; Chang, Gee-Chen (2019). "The Relationship Between Air Pollution and Lung Cancer in Nonsmokers in Taiwan". Journal of Thoracic Oncology. 14 (5). Elsevier BV: 784–792. doi:10.1016/j.jtho.2018.12.033. ISSN 1556-0864. PMID 30664991. S2CID 58552202.
28. ^ 羅真 (22 August 2019). "高屏肺癌增加率北部15倍 蔡英文：會多著墨南北平衡 - 政經大事 - 產業". 經濟日報 (in Chinese). Archived from the original on 28 January 2020. Retrieved 28 January 2020. Alt URL Archived 12 November 2020 at the Wayback Machine
29. ^ Lee Hong-Yuan [李鴻源] (10 September 2019). 台灣必須面對的真相 [The harsh reality Taiwan ought to confront] (in Chinese (Taiwan)). Taipei. ISBN 978-957-13-7938-8. OCLC 1127057496. Archived from the original on 29 January 2020. Retrieved 29 January 2020 - via ウェブ魚拓. "在我小的時候，台灣很窮，但我們一直相信只要努力用功，就會有機會，就能出人頭地。前教育部長吳京從小在台東長大，前台北市副市長、曾任高鐵董事長的歐晉德也是來自台東。再看看台大，和我年紀相近或是較長的教授，超過一半都來自中南部，這意味著，在過去不論是來自台灣的東南西北，機會是屬於努力的人。走到今天，台灣的城鄉差距愈拉愈大，從台大即可一窺一二。現今的台大學生大部分都來自雙北，他們的父親出生地卻多是雲林、嘉義等地，意味著人口逐漸往台北傾斜，城鄉差距愈拉愈大，教育資源錯置從未解決，......"`{{cite book}}`: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)

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