Taiwan Today

An airmail letter deposited in anyone of 1,100 boxes along the streets of Taipei will reach North America in 48 hours, Europe in 72 hours and Africa or South America in four or five days. Do­mestic mail is delivered anywhere on Taiwan the next morning and in many cases on the day of mailing. People have become so accustomed to this modern postal service that they forget deliveries have not al­ways been so prompt and efficient.

A look at the history of China's post couldn't begin more revealingly than with the pictographs and ideographs of Chinese writing. The character which means "conveyance of messages" is formed from elements signifying "messenger" and "special". In other words, the first messages were carried by special messengers and in the beginning were verbal. Nearly 2,500 years ago some of these messengers were carry­ing special proof of identity. Jade, bronze or copper tigers were broken in half. An emperor might have one half and his commander-in-chief the other. Either would send his half of the tiger to demonstrate authenticity of the message.

Beacon fires provided another early means of Chinese communication, especially as warnings of border threats. One story tells of King Yu of the Chou dynasty. He had a concubine who was un­smiling. But she laughed out loud when his vassals showed up in response to a series of beacon fires he bad lighted. Then the barbarians attacked and sacked his capital because his fiery summons of help were ignored.

The earliest mention of a postal system is found in the remark of Confucius (551-479 B.C.) that "The influence of righteousness travels faster than a royal order by post station service". With the Chou dynasty (1122-221 B.C.), the post station system provided the means of carrying orders and edicts and also of transporting goods and people bent on government business. Rulers received intelligence of events in the kingdom.

Shih Huang Ti of Ch'in unified China at the close of the 3rd century B.C. To tighten his control over the country, he built a system of post roads and set up stations 10 miles apart. Station stables had 240 horses each. Ch'in was succeeded by Han (206 B.C.-220 A.D.), whose founder had once been a post­-master. At its apogee, Han held parts of central Asia and extended its post station system there. Han his­torians noted that the Roman Empire had a post system similar to China's. Post roads linked the T'ang capital of Changan with Central Asia. The couriers of the Yuan dynasty (1260-1368) used relays of horses to cover 200 miles a day.

By the time of Ch'ing (1644-1911) there were two post station systems. That for routine communi­cation had 15,000 stations from three to ten miles apart. Couriers traveling afoot covered about 30 miles in a day. A letter took 23 days from Peking to Nanking, 48 days to Chengtu in Szechwan and 56 days to Canton in the south. The other network had 1.600 stations, 70,000 men and 40,000 horses. The routes extended from Peking in five directions, reach­ing all the provincial capitals. Boats were used along the Grand Canal and in the southern provinces. Urgent correspondence, public goods and the trans­port of officials were handled. Stations were about 30 miles apart. Urgent messages might travel at 100 to 200 miles a day. A speed of as high as 270 miles a day was sometimes attained on the plains of North China.

Post station operations were administered by a department attached to the Ministry of War in Peking. The Stud Office handled couriers and horses and the Dispatching Office took care of the mails. Sixteen regional directors were scattered around the country. Covers dispatched from Peking to the province were inspected and stamped at the Post Station Depart­ment, then sent on to the Stud Office. Each district magistrate was responsible for seeing that the mail moved on to its next destination. Dispatches were enclosed in an official cover or "itinerary bill". Post stations through which the piece would have to pass were itemized and the date of passage noted. Couriers carried edicts enclosed in a small sealed casket and wore a small yellow flag on their collar. They could be recognized afar and changed horses without alight­ing.

Ch'ing accounts list US$3 million spent on the service in 1902. By then the system was out of date but dynastic conservatism and vested interest had preserved this means of carrying government communications.

Private letter companies seem to have originated in the 15th century during the Ming dynasty. Magis­trates and other high officials were forbidden to serve in their native provinces and had need of reliable communications to home and friends. Growing trade also stimulated the establishment and expansion of the private carriers. By 1900 there were 300 registered in the 24 treaty ports and many more in the country as a whole. Every means of conveyance was used. There were slow, economical services and fast, expensive ones. Fees were often paid half by the sender and half by the recipient. A bonus might be stipulated for fast delivery. Speed was prescribed by burning one corner of the missive and also by inserting a feather in the envelope and leaving the tip to protrude.

Private companies at Swatow and Amoy trans­mitted letters to and from Southeast Asia, Australia and Hawaii. Usually these were carried by the crew members of ships. Couriers might be sent by sea, carrying enough letters to assure the payment of fare and a profit. The biggest fault of the private com­panies was the concentration on profitable routes. Many places were left unserved.

The modern Chinese Postal Service was preceded by foreign post offices functioning in China. The first was opened in Hongkong in 1842. Within a few years, branches had been established at principal ports. Other countries followed the British example. Free delivery to ports of call was offered by shipping companies. A Shanghai post office was opened under control of the council of foreign settlements there. As of 1906, foreign post offices functioning in China (ex­clusive of Manchuria) included 10 British, 13 French, 14 German, 16 Japanese, 5 Russian and 1 American.

The Chinese Postal Service was established as part of the Chinese Maritime Customs Service, which had its beginnings in Shanghai in 1855 under an Eng­lishman, Horatio Nelson Lay. He became inspector­-general of customs in 1861, then was succeeded in 1863 by Sir Robert Hart, an Irishman. So successful was Hart that he was asked to work toward the es­tablishment of a postal system.

The 1858 Treaty of Tientsin provided for the transportation of Peking legation mail to Tientsin. Couriers could be used for nine months. But from the beginning of December until the end of February, the port is icebound and mail had to go from Chin­-kiang on the lower Yangtze River, a 12-day journey for a mounted courier through country disturbed by the Taiping and Nien rebellions. In 1861, Prince Kung, who headed the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, ordered the Inspectorate General of Customs to assume the task of making up, distributing and conveying the mail. Postal departments were created at the customs houses of Chinkiang and Shanghai, and later at Newchwang, Tientsin and Chefoo, and at the Inspectorate General at Peking. By 1882, all ports north of Fukien had restricted service for both foreign and Chinese cor­respondence. On March 20 of 1896, an Imperial Post was created for all China and Sir Robert Hart became Inspector General of Customs and Posts under the general supervision of the Ministry of For­eign Affairs.

Introduced in 1878 were customs postage stamps of three denominations—1, 3 and 5 candarins. The candarin was a hundredth of a tad, or about US1 cent. The dragon design symbolized imperial power and dignity.

The imperial decree did not give Sir Robert funds to operate the new postal system, nor did it abolish such competitors as the Post Station Service, the private companies and the foreign post offices. He decided to offer the competition of better, faster and cheaper service. Each customs district became a postal unit. The customs staff provided the admin­istration and supervision. A separate postal staff was needed only for the actual handling of mail. By 1910, postal functions required about twice as many people as the customs proper.

Private letter companies stayed in business for a long time after the introduction of the government's service. Total abolition did not come until 1934. The customs had no way of compelling shipping lines to favor the Imperial Post but was to find another lever. Ships nominally were loaded and unloaded between the hours of 6 a.m. and 6 p.m. Additional time required special permits, which had to be purchased. In time these special fees became a burden and the steam­ship companies asked for relief. Customs offered to refund half the fees to shipping lines that would transport the government mail and refuse to carry other mail except that of their .own country. The scheme worked. For a time the private companies pooled their mail and survived. The Post Station Service surrendered its functions to the Chinese Post Office in 1912.

China notified the Swiss Federal Council of the establishment of the Imperial Post in 1896 but did not become a member of the Universal Postal Union until 1914. In the interim, the Chinese Post Office accepted mail for foreign destinations and affixed for­eign stamps at Union rates. The sender paid only the equivalent of the Union rate in Chinese stamps. Thus the Chinese Post Office itself provided a free service. Incoming foreign mails were distributed gratis. Reciprocal conventions were signed with France in 1900, Japan in 1903 and India and Hongkong in 1904. After joining the Union, the Chinese Post Office had to undertake new responsibilities. Exchange offices were established at Mukden, Harbin, Tientsin, Shanghai, Canton and other cities. Train post offices were established on the Tieotsin-Pukow and Peking-Mukden railways. Foreign post offices were gradually withdrawn: the German in 1917 and the Russian in 1920 because of the cessation of diplomatic relations, and the English, American and Japanese voluntarily in 1922.

The Ministry of Posts and Communications came into existence in 1906, but not until May 28, 1911, was the postal service formally removed from customs jurisdiction. Lord Li Ching-fang became the Director General and Theophile Piry the Postmaster General. By 1915 the Post Office was able to pay its own way.

The Chinese Post Office continued its growth after the National Revolution of 1911 and the establishment of the Republic on January 1, 1912. Mails went through despite the conflicts of warlords and other troubles. The Post Office was an element point­ing in the direction of national unification. The Na­tional Government moved to Nanking in 1927 and assumed control in Peking in 1928 (Peking, meaning "northern capital", then became Peiping, meaning "northern peace"). Set up at Nanking was the Direc­torate General of Posts headed by Liu Shu-fan. Work was shifted from foreigners to Chinese. H. Picard­-Destelan of France, who had headed the Directorate at Peking, resigned in 1929.

Airmail experiments were carried out between Peking and Tsinan in 1921 and between Shanghai and Nanking in 1929. The first regular service was initiated in October, 1929, by the China National Aviation Corporation, which was a Sino-American enterprise partly financed by the Chinese Post Office. The first route was Shanghai-Nanking-Kiuliang-Hankow. Soon this was extended along the Yangtze River to Ichang, Wanhsien, Chungking and Chengtu. Other routes were opened from Shanghai south to Wenchow, Foochow, Amoy, Swatow and Canton, and north to Nanking, Tsinan, Peiping, Linsi and Manchouli on the Russian border. The Post Office also invested in the Eurasia Aviation Corporation in partnership with Lufthansa of Germany. Domestic air routes totaled only 913 kilometers in 1929; this had risen to 18,000 kilometers by 1936. In 1937, CNAC's Shanghai-Hongkong route connected with Pan American's transpacific Hongkong Clipper.

Postal workers showed great heroism during the 1937-45 War of Resistance Against Japan. Not all of them followed the government to the hinterland. Those who stayed behind maintained secret routes for mail service within occupied areas and to the free interior. Army post offices were established to serve troops. Postal expansion was resumed after 1945 and successfully carried out despite Communist interfer­ence and sabotage. Airmail routes had reached 39,000 kilometers by 1948. In 1946, there were 3,162 post offices with nearly 40,000 workers. More than a billion letters and 1.1 million parcels were handled in 1946.

Chinese postal development in Taiwan continued to follow the mainland pattern after the 1949 Com­munist usurpation. U.S.-educated T. Y. Ho, who served as Director General of Posts from 1955 to 1969, made many improvements during that period. He based his business philosophy on low rates and efficient service to avert the deficits that plague the postal services of most countries. In 1968, the Chi­nese Post Office had revenues in excess of US$15 million and showed a profit of more than US$5 mil­ lion. Yet the domestic postal rate is US2½ cents compared with 2.8 cents in Japan, 3.5 cents in Great Britain, 4.8 cents in West Germany, 6 cents in U.S. and Canada and 7.7 cents in Sweden. The handling of mail has been increasingly mechanized. Deliveries are speeded by bicycle, motorcycle and truck.

These special services are offered by the Chinese Post Office in Taiwan:

— Prompt delivery. The cost is only 3% cents for a letter. If delivery is not at or before the time spec­ified by the post office, the fee is refunded.

— Parcel packing at cost.

— Mail order. A variety of goods is available.

— Bulk mail handling. Fees are nominal.

— Banking. Postal savings include passbook, installment, fixed amount and transfer savings.

— Remittances. These include money orders, telegraphic orders, cash orders and gift coupons.

— Philatelic sales and assistance. Many special stamps are issued annually. Orders are filled by mail.

S. P. Wang succeeded Ho as Director General on August 1, 1969. He was educated at Shanghai University in China and Georgetown University in the United States and joined the Chinese Postal Service in 1929.

An improvement program to cost more than US$7.5 million is being carried out in the 1970-72 period. Already inaugurated is a zip code system for all Taiwan. Stamped envelopes to facilitate mechanical sorting are sold by post offices for the price of a stamp. The stationery industry is being encouraged to manufacture and push the sale of unstamped en­velopes of the same size. Three automated sorting systems will be installed in Taipei. Both Taipei and Kaohsiung will have zoned delivery centers.

Postal savings accounts had reached a total of US$167 million in 1970 and will rise to US$250 million by 1972. The Taipei District Head Post Office has established a Postal Data Processing Center and is using IBM computers to process savings accounts.

Another program will improve rural mail deliveries. Fifty-four post offices will be opened in the countryside in the 1970-72 period. Three hundred motorcycles are being purchased to expedite deliveries and pick-ups.

In the United States, a once great postal service has become the target of widespread complaint and ridicule. It is said that letters move faster without a special delivery stamp and that zip codes neither help nor hinder. Postal workers recently engaged in unauthorized strikes for higher pay. The Nixon admin­istration has recommended that the post office be re­moved from direct government control and placed under a quasi-public corporation. Thus far the Chinese Post Office has had none of these difficulties. Jobs are covered by civil service and the competition for them is keen. Those entering the service know that they can rise to Director General on their own merits. Service is a matter of great pride to postal employees and the fees assure continuous growth and an operation that is profitable to the taxpayer. Coun­tries that are wallowing in postal inefficiency and red ink could do worse than study the Chinese Post Office, which has combined Western institutionalism with Chinese pride in a job well done.