Over the past few months, many respected individuals have been calling on the government to address the issue of the brain drain from Taiwan. Much online chatter and comments from wider society reveal the public finds it unacceptable that the so-called high-level talent within Taiwan’s middle and upper classes would only consider staying in the nation if they were offered salary increases. Some even say they are suspicious about those people’s motivation and doubt their allegiance to Taiwan.
Clearly, the public has an incomplete understanding of what makes talented people tick and assumes it is all about high salary levels. Anyway, higher remuneration would not ultimately benefit social development or improve the situation in this country, as increasing certain salaries or offering huge financial incentives would only widen the gap between this minority and the rest of society.
The US has consistently been able to attract immigrants from all over the world who, once there, devote themselves to different causes. The key here is the “American Dream.” In the US, regardless of whether somebody shines shoes or is an exchange student, as long as they work hard and strive to better themselves, the social system respects their hard work and rewards them appropriately. In such an environment, sports stars, for example, can make hundreds of million of dollars each year, while others are willing to live their lives on welfare payments. Under such a system, everyone has the right to make their own decisions and everything is fair.
The example of the US can offer us an important insight: If a very talented person wanted to stay in Taiwan, they would not do so simply for pay or patriotism. It would be because they see here the possibility of realizing their personal life ambitions — what we might call the “Taiwanese Dream.” Talent scouts from China, Hong Kong and Singapore who headhunt skilled Taiwanese are not what we need to be most worried by.
What we really need to worry about is how those who do stay in Taiwan can find meaning in their lives and understand their personal worth instead of being broke at the end of every month and working hard for low pay, losing sight of their ambitions through inertia. There are more ways to improve this state of affairs than simply adjusting pay structure, two of which we cannot afford to ignore.
The first is the issue of diversity in education. Over the past couple of decades, Taiwanese society has overemphasized the development of information technology and high technology and this has left us incapable of knowing what it means to be truly talented in the broader sense of the word.
Taiwan has very talented people in other sectors, too, such as major league pitcher Wang Chien-ming (王建民), golf champ Yani Tseng (曾雅妮), directors Wei Te-sheng (魏德聖) and Ang Lee (李安) and chef Cheng Yen-chi (鄭衍基), better known as Ah-chi-shih (阿基師). Have we, on witnessing their success, allowed our children to play sports, make films and cook? No, we haven’t.
This is because the education we first receive at home only places emphasis on studying hard, getting into a good school, making money and, only then, enjoying life. We have no idea about helping our children expand their horizons, strengthen their abilities, tailor their expectations in line with their abilities, achieve self-realization and help others.
When a society does not encourage young people to have big ambitions or help them to overcome difficulties and realize their dreams, it is killing talent. How can such a society expect to retain talented individuals?
The second is the issue of cutting down on red tape. The current bureaucratic system is overly restrictive and does little to incentivize talent. For example, the Ministry of Education proposed to spend NT$50 billion (US$1.6 billion) in five years on higher education, but it required school departments to write reports each year and often restricted what they could teach. These demands are superficial, bureaucracy for its own sake, and do little to address the issues at hand.
On Sept. 19, at Academia Sinica, Premier Wu Den-yih (吳敦義) announced that the government would do everything it could to solve problems — such as restrictions on procurement for scientific research, conflicts of interest involved in technology transfers and researchers dividing their time between different positions — that are hampering scientific research and development. Such moves should be encouraged.
However, this is but one aspect of the problem.
These systematic adjustments should be applicable beyond just those involved in scientific research and development: Other sectors have similar and sometimes more serious problems. Compulsory military service for athletes and issues surrounding their retirement spring to mind, as does the lack of funding for movies and restrictions on where actors and actresses can work. Regulation should encourage innovation, not stifle it.
There is an ancient Chinese proverb that says: “A talented individual can choose whom to serve.” It doesn’t say they prostitute themselves for pay.
A truly talented person needs to be in a place where they can realize their ideals, serve more people and get the respect and pay they deserve. Therefore, apart from taking the Band-Aid approach of raising salaries, we should also encourage more young people to realize their dreams and make overall improvements to the environment we are now in.
This is the only way to halt the brain drain and balance the differences between various industries as well as bring Taiwan’s pay for talented individuals more in line with international standards. Then, we would encourage talented people from all fields, not just the high-tech sector and academia, to want to stay in Taiwan. We must work together to build a “Taiwanese Dream” for everyone.
Wang Daw-wei is a professor at National Tsing Hua University.
TRANSLATED BY DREW CAMERON
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