China is now home to the ONLY OVERWATER TRAIN in the WORLD

China has the world's longest and most extensive high speed rail network totalling 42 thousand kilometres and is now building MAG-LEV trains.

Ron Chapman

Nov 20, 2023

Transcript

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China a world leader in highspeed rail

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has once again pushed the boundaries of

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modern Engineering in a remarkable

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achievement China has unveiled its first

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overwater bullet train a feat

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unparalleled anywhere else in the world

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combining speed elegance and

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breathtaking views this technological

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Marvel is set to redefine the future of

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Transportation what's even more

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impressive is that it was constructed

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using AI powerered Robotics and

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environmentally friendly steel it's also

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fully automated but this 7.4 billion

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project wasn't made without controversy

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the new Railway line has a stop just 10

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km away from Taiwan signaling the

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Project's profound geopolitical

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significance by connecting the fujin

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province to the independent island of

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Taiwan there's a lot to unpack in this

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Mega project so stay tuned to find out

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how the Taiwanese government reacted to

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this amazing Mega project and how

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China's use of AI robots in its

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construction could radically redefine

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the future of construction welcome back

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to PST Asia if you haven't yet please

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subscribe and leave a like for this

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video your support helps us continue our

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work as most of you know China has been

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a global leader in the high-speed rail

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industry since the mid 2000s as of last

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year China has the world's longest and

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most extensive high-speed rail network

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totaling 42,000 km to put that in

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perspective its high-speed rail network

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is three times the length of North and

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South America combined and now it's

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added another massive project to its

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portfolio this year on the 28th of

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September China achieved a great modern

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engineering feat when it launched its

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first overwater bullet train not only is

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it one of the fastest trains in the

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world operating at a maximum speed of

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350 kmph but it is also the first

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overwater bullet train in the world this

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impressive project was designed by the

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China Railway suyuan survey and Design

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Group limited company and travels on a

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277 kiler rail line along the fusion

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province's Southeastern coasts this

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means the new bullet train connects the

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key cities of Jung Joo shaaman and fujo

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which are important economic hubs fujo

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is the province's capital and also an

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important industrial and Transportation

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Hub Shaman is a port city located across

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the straight from Taiwan and although

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jungo may be less notable compared to

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the other two cities a major

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petrochemical plant owned by Taiwan

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based jangl Group is located there so

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you can see how having a bullet train

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connecting these cities would come in

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handy but besides that the train also

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offers passengers a beautiful view of

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the sea with 20 km of train track

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actually passing over the water because

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of this 85% of the Railway line is made

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up of 84 Bridges and 29 tunnels as you

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might imagine construction on this

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project was very difficult because of

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the tracks location on the water they

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had to deal with strong winds high waves

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and deep Waters when construction for

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the Mega project began in 2017 workers

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grappled with these issues before

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switching to robots powered by by

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artificial intelligence just a year

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later these robots kept construction

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workers out of extremely dangerous

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situations laying 1.5 km of train track

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per day before they were upgraded in

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2021 to 2 km while the robots were very

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necessary for this project their use

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also symbolizes China's shift of

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automated manufacturing the issue for

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China is clearly not a lack of workers

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since it has already accomplished

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incredible infrastructure projects with

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its Workforce but the lockdowns caused

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by its zero covid policies shut down

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work on a lot of projects not to mention

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the rapid increase in labor costs have

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also put a wrench in China's ambitious

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infrastructure plans from 2019 to 2020

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labor costs jumped from

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$578 to

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$6.50 which is why Chinese officials are

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relying more heavily on a robot

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Workforce to keep up with production

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demand this combined with its birth rate

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dropping to a record low of 1.09 in 2022

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the lowest of any country with a

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population over 100 million might

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necessitate the use of robots in the

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future there are other benefits to using

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a robot Workforce as well automated

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technology can collect real-time data

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from the construction site and transmit

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it to warehouses streamlining the

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process for supplying materials and

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components it looks like China sees

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automated construction as its future

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their factories already use robots for

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almost every step of the assembly

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process so the next step is to eliminate

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the need for construction workers in

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their infrastructure projects as well

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but besides AI high powered robots there

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are some other very interesting details

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about this project for one thing the

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Chinese government used corrosion

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resistant steel which has chromium added

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to its surface this protects the steel

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against moisture preventing rusting

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aside from being durable and long

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lasting stainless steel is also good for

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the environment because it is non-toxic

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easy to recycle and requires less energy

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to produce than other materials but

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aside from the construction process

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itself there is a lot that makes this

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overwater bullet train interesting the

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project was first announced in 2015 as

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an addition to the fu J Shaman highspeed

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line which was already operating at over

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100% occupancy because of the fujan

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Region's mountainous terrain the

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transportation system had become

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strained and the new addition would help

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alleviate it however the real reason for

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this project was much more than just

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improving connectivity in the region

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fujin is significant for another thing

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it's proximity to Taiwan in fact fuin is

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the closest part of China to the

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independent island of Taiwan for

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perspective shaaman one of the Cities

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this train line connects is just 10 kilm

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away from kinmen a western region in

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Taiwan the Project's proximity to Taiwan

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is hard to ignore and it comes at a time

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when China is also virging cross street

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exchange between fujin and Taiwan China

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has already announced its plans to turn

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the fujan province into a zone for

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integrated development with Taiwan so

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it's clear that China built the railway

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with that goal in mind government

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officials stated that the bullet train

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would make travel easier and enhance

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investment opportunities between

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mainland China and Taiwan adding that it

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could build a high-speed Railway line

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directly connecting fujin and taian by

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2035 China seems very serious about its

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intentions here and the Communist Party

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of China's Central Committee and the

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state Council have even encouraged

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Taiwanese companies based in fujin or

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neara to list themselves on the Beijing

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Stock Exchange besides this Taiwanese

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visitors have also been encouraged to

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settle down in the province and fully

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integrate themselves into the mainland

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as you would expect the government's

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statement and over efforts at

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assimilation were extremely

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controversial since China refuses to

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acknowledge Taiwan as an independent

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country it seems that China was hoping

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to flex its power and try to establish

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taiwan's place as part of China by

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connecting the two countries via Railway

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without taiwan's permission obviously

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Taiwan refused the underwater tunnel

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which led Beijing to the next best thing

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in overwater bullet train stopping just

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10 kilm from Taiwan however Taiwanese

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defense officials have noted that the

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Taiwan Strait is a natural barrier

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between mainland China and Taiwan and

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stated that Taiwan will continue to

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defend its National sovereignty and

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integrity of its territorial Waters

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lands and airspace making it clear that

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the Taiwanese government only views

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these plans as The ccp's Wishful

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Thinking political tensions aside any

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Railway project connecting mainland

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China and Taiwan would face extreme

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technical difficulties including

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drilling through complex layers of

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granite rocks and building around two

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earthquake fault lines in the Taiwan

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straight a Chinese government scientist

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even said that if this link happens it

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will be the largest and most challenging

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civil engineering project of the 21st

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century so far taiwan's reaction to the

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high-speed Railway line has been almost

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exactly the same as its reaction to the

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underwater tunnel the council has also

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pointed to China's domestic economic

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problems countering beijing's claims

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that linking fuen and Taiwan would

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improve its economy since mainland China

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can't even improve its current economic

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situation on this note it's also

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possible that part of China's motivation

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for linking Taiwan with mainland China

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is the opportunity to capitalize on the

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growing Taiwanese economy fueled by

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taiwan's dominance in the semiconductors

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industry Taiwan makes up to 60% of the

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world's most advanced semiconductors a

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market that China is eager to create its

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own supply chain for especially after

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the trade war with the US that limited

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China's exposure to New American chip

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technology as a result foreign

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investments in China's semiconductor

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industry dropped from 4 8% in 2018 to

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just 1% in 2022 setting all the

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geopolitical Intrigue aside China's

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overwater bullet train is still a huge

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benefit to locals in fusion and since

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there is some overlap with Taiwanese

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companies working in the region it may

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benefit them too for example the fastest

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trip between Fu Jaa and Shaman used to

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take around 1 hour and 20 minutes now

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the new bullet train reduced the time

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needed for this trip to just under an

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hour it also boosted the economic and

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cultural exchanges between the cities at

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link potentially increasing tourism in

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the province as well whether this

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impressive Mega project is just another

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example of China's desire to integrate

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with Taiwan or not does not take away

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from the engineering Marvel China has

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created its impressive construction

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using AI powered robots and coverage of

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20 km of sea highlights China's ability

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to make the seemingly impossible

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possible so who's ready to ride the

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first overwater bullet train in the

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world well that's all for now let us

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know what you think of this Mega project

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in the comments below and if you haven't

9:31

please subscribe and leave a like for

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