Is Taiwan a Third-World Country? (2)

People don't earn much in Taiwan, but nobody earns 100 USD per month. And life is not that expensive! Everything is about twice cheaper than in Europe, not twice more! In Kinshasa, there aren't any cinemas. In Taipei, there are over thirty! In Kinshasa, the libraries count only a few books and they can be counted on a single hand. In Taipei, they are hundreds of libraries and each of them has several thousand books. There aren't any roads outside Kinshasa, so to say, apart from the one that leads to the harbour. The capital and the second main city, Lubumbashi, are not connected. The only way to go from one to the other is to fly. In Taiwan, it isn't like that. Every city, town or even hamlet, however small, is well connected to the rest of the country. There are roads, buses, trains, taxis, and everything else you can imagine. The metro (MRT) of Taipei is one of the best of the world. It is fast, convenient, beautiful and clean. It is not far from going everywhere in the city.

In Kinshasa, a judge, a general or a politician can built his house on your own land. There will be no consequences for him. If you complain, you will be send to jail, where you will probably die after a few days. If the city wants to make an official building where your house stands, they will dislodge you, destroy the house and build what they wanted to build. If you complain or ask for compensation, they will send you to jail, where you will probably die after a few days. In Taiwan, it is not like that. If someone wrongs you, you can sue him, even if he is the president! And if the city wanted to make a road or an official building, they would ask you if you could relocate. If you disagreed, they would let you live in your house. They wouldn't send you to jail. That's a reason why they are so many old buildings in Taipei! The city doesn't decide when to destroy them. They let the people choose for themselves.

On the other hand, a country like the Congo has only a handful of factories, Taiwan has thousands and thousands. Taiwan has several skyscrapers, there isn't any in Kinshasa. Taiwan has probably the fastest or second fastest Internet connection in the world. In Kinshasa, it is almost impossible to upload a single photo on your Facebook wall because the connection is too slow. In Taiwan, children go to school until four o'clock and then most of them attend a 'buxiban' or cram school, to learn more. In the Congo, school is not compulsory. It costs 200 USD per year and per child. Many parents can't afford that... This is a third-world country. Taiwan is at the other end of the spectrum. Taiwan is definitely not a third-world country.