The Political Economy of the Development of Kaohsiung City

Urban function is the steering wheel of urban development; urban development and civilian are connected by ordinary life, recreation and social activities. The precision of urban function leads to the efficiency of resource logistics, which turns a city more competitive. Changes in political and economical factors have impacted the function and development of Kaohsiung City both nationally and internationally. Regarding international aspect, not only the commercialism which originated from the Age of Discovery but the expansion of capitalism has influenced the development of Kaohsiung City. On the national aspect, the ruling of Zheng Chenggong, Qing Dynasty, Japan colonial government and the retreated of Nationalist Government are factors which led to political and economical changes. or the passed four hundred years, “geo-value” has been the core niche in the urban function and development of Kaohsiung City. The development of Kaohsiung City can be traced back to the implementation of geopolitics and geo-economics by International Powers. Being a junction port for international trading is the most important urban function for Kaohsiung City. A great leap for Kaohsiung City in 1860 was to officially open Takao port which claimed by the Great Powers. The second leap in 1908 under the ruling of Japan was three expansion projects for Takao port. n 1958 the Nationalist Government conducted a twelve-year expansion project of the Kaohsiung Harbor was the third leap. Kaohsiung has been taken as a military fortress base for political preservation by different administrative among five political transition.There are three functioning policies for the modern industries in Kaohsiung. First in 1937, when Japan was aggressively expanding southward, the colonial government in Taiwan constructed industries in defense, heavy industry and petrochemical. The first Kaohsiung Export Processing Zone established in 1966, and the Ten Major Construction Projects which included China Steel Factory, China Shipbuilding Corporation and Chinese Petroleum Corporation strengthened local hard industry. The third policy was to build container terminal at Kaohsiung port in 1969. Recently until 2009 there are five container logistic centers in operation and Kaohsiung was once the third largest container port in the world. ormer Kaohsiung Mayer Frank Hsieh proposed the City as Maritime Capital in 1998. Facing the twenty-first century, the Kaohsiung city government needs support from central government to become the core of national knowledge-driven economy. On the other hand it is necessary to define the function of global city, connect with global network, global governance of the city, start dialogue with the world and share local characters universally.