Editor's Note: This year, the Editor was fortunate enough to travel to many of Taiwan's major islands — including popular destinations like Green Island and Xiaoliuqiu, and even the not-yet-open-to-the-public Keelung Islet. Every time we set sail, we were left in awe of Taiwan's magnificent ocean scenery. Yet we can hardly praise the government's long-standing "fear of the sea" policies. All too often, divers lash out emotionally at fishermen for catching various species of fish, while overlooking the fact that the government itself is the most important driving force in the transformation of the marine industry. We hope the relevant government agencies will take a more proactive approach to this challenge in the future, so that Taiwan can once again proudly call itself a maritime nation! This article is reprinted from 張宸浩's personal Facebook page.
Last week I attended a very high-class yacht party thrown by a friend of mine. I give it an extremely high rating — easily the most fun party I've been to this year, aside from my own (a title previously held by the spring banquet party hosted by Ray Chang Shao-kai of the Taipei Bureau).
A yacht party has a certain flair to it — cigars, fine wine, talented and beautiful people, a DJ spinning tracks, moonlight shimmering on the river, a breeze drifting over the water. It all feels gloriously decadent. But this article is actually about social issues and politics.
The host was Ray Lee (not Ray Chen of Rui Core) — two people who share the same name. I've known Ray Lee for about a year and a bit. How did we meet? Mutual friends, social circles, then Facebook.
The new friends I've made over the past few years have come through a handful of channels: social circles, events and gatherings, activities, friend introductions, friends of friends, and Facebook friends with many connections in common.
Among them, there are also some friends working in the recreational yacht industry — yacht marinas, overseas sailing tours, yacht events, co-owning yachts for rental, ocean-voyage activities, and so on.
I had already heard of Ray Lee's name long before we met. He's been deeply involved in the yacht industry for many years, and we have many mutual friends in our social circles. After we connected on Facebook, I discovered that we shared many of the same values, so I started inviting him out regularly. His life reads like a storybook — rich in experience. Early on, he studied electrical engineering and worked at the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant, assuring everyone it was absolutely safe. He also traveled to Cuba with hopes of promoting dance. Later, he shifted to marine ecological restoration, developed a deep passion for the ocean, and threw himself into the marine industry — yacht activities, yacht marinas, scuba diving, sea fishing, and more. He has also written for GQ magazine and is a true connoisseur of the good life.
Through our conversations about Taiwan's political landscape and the yacht industry, drawing on his years of invaluable experience and listening to his talks, I came away with many thoughts.
Taiwan's yacht industry has developed relatively slowly due to regulatory constraints, and the number of people who own yachts is not large. Yet Taiwan is actually a major yacht manufacturing nation, exporting vessels to Europe and the Americas.
Taiwan is a major yacht manufacturer — pictured here is Kha Shing Yacht
Reflections from a Yacht Party
In the United States or Mediterranean countries, owning a yacht is perfectly ordinary. Even moderately successful middle-class people sail yachts and sailboats. In Taiwan, however, this is rare. Taiwan is plainly an island nation surrounded by the sea on all sides — it has outstanding conditions for developing a yacht tourism industry. So why hasn't it taken off?
It's certainly not because people lack money. There are actually a great many wealthy people in Taiwan. The main reason lies in government regulations and attitudes, along with an excessive bias toward protecting the fishing industry.
I myself love the ocean. I'm nowhere near as knowledgeable as Ray Lee, but I enjoy scuba diving — I hold Advanced Open Water Diver and nitrox certifications — and I love all kinds of ocean activities. It's a real shame that Taiwan has so many precious resources yet allows them to be carelessly trampled and disregarded. Taiwan has an enormous wealth of marine tourism resources, but the government has simply let the fishing industry take whatever it wants from the sea, destroying it in the process.
Indeed, the biggest threat to the marine tourism industry is the fishing industry — along with a shortsighted public and culture. Overfishing by fishermen has devastated the ocean with absolutely no concept of conservation. Hammerhead Sharks, Stingrays, and all manner of rare fish are swept up in nets and wiped out wholesale. Overfishing also disrupts the ecosystem and damages coral growth.
The government could take action on all of this — imposing fishing bans, designating marine protected areas — but it doesn't dare, for fear of fishermen's protests and losing votes.
And what can the marine tourism industry bring us? An inexhaustible wellspring of ocean tourism resources. Just look at Palau, the Philippines, and the Maldives — how many tourists visit Palau every year, just to see the beautiful coral, sharks, and manta rays? What does a single manta ray bring in if it's hauled up and eaten? If that same ray were left in the sea to reproduce and attract diving tourists, how much could it generate? The latter figure would be thousands of times greater.
Taiwan currently has many idle, abandoned fishing ports — all of which could be redeveloped as yacht marinas. Not only would this be visually attractive and modern, it would also deliver high economic returns.
We have a beautiful ocean. We also have world-leading yacht manufacturing technology. From a technical standpoint, there is absolutely no obstacle to developing a yacht tourism industry. When yacht tourism takes off, it will draw investment from Taiwan's wealthy — people who might buy yachts instead of real estate, helping to make housing more affordable for young people. That would be a tremendous investment. As more and more yacht marinas are built and more yachts are moored, we will need more people: to manufacture yachts and their components, to manage marinas and vessels, and to serve as captains and mariners. Yacht chartering is a solid business, and charter management services will flourish. Yacht license examinations, ocean leisure promotion, print and online marketing channels — all are part of the industry chain. Add to that water sports, tourism, party and event planning — an entire chain of industries that will create countless jobs, and all of it is a clean, smokeless industry.
Ocean leisure can become a complete ecosystem
And that's before we even consider how many international tourists a thriving yacht tourism industry would attract to Taiwan each year for marine recreation — driving growth in tourism, hotels, car rentals, tour guides, and more.
Ray Lee also mentioned that a relatively high proportion of Hong Kong residents own yachts, but that Hong Kong's marinas are already insufficient. If Taiwan or Penghu were to build more yacht marinas, wealthy Hong Kong residents could moor their boats in Taiwan and Penghu — drawing Hong Kong visitors to Taiwan as tourists while also generating berthing fee revenue.
When a well-organized government commits to making it happen, creating a wonderful vision of ocean leisure is absolutely achievable. In Taiwan, however, it may be a difficult dream to realize.
The government excessively subsidizes the fishing industry, and the irony is that many fishermen aren't even actively fishing — many collect government subsidies, and fuel purchases are subsidized too. Subsidies flow overwhelmingly to fisheries. Why doesn't the government subsidize the yacht industry instead? Because there are no votes in it.
The moment fishermen protest, nothing can move — that is Taiwan's current populist culture. Ray Lee said that a fisherman once told him, "We fishermen earn our money the hard way. You're all just playing around." But has that fisherman ever considered this: Taiwan has always earned its keep through grueling contract manufacturing, and in the end, even that margin has dried up. Every transition comes with growing pains, but once the transition succeeds, you can earn even more while enjoying yourself.
When people see someone on a yacht, they assume it's just entertainment for the rich. Has it ever occurred to them that this industry could bring enormous amounts of foreign exchange into Taiwan, improving our livelihoods and economy?
Despite this difficult environment, I still see many friends who are passionate about the ocean, tirelessly promoting ocean leisure. As someone who loves the ocean myself, I find this deeply moving. Perhaps in the second half of the year I'll go and get a yacht operator's license.
A culture of short-term thinking and Taiwan's excessive populism — where any idea draws a swarm of self-righteous keyboard warriors ready to complain, obstruct, and boycott — means that Ray Lee and his merry band of fellow dreamers are destined to walk a difficult road toward their vision of marine leisure tourism. Still, at least on the Leader Ocean website I did see coverage of a yacht marina grand opening that Mayor Chu Li-lun attended to cut the ribbon. Perhaps even in this populist society, there are still a few clear-headed officials. That deserves encouragement.
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