Shanghai Then, Shanghai Now

Look at the transformation of Shanghai. In just 20 years, the cityscape is completely new (ok the shots are different time, but still). It's because they are building infrastructure & buildings at a super fast rate (maybe even faster than Dubai).

In China, the government can easily wipe out villages, demolish historical buildings (see Three Gorges Dam) and what-not to give way to modern China. If you'll check out Nat Geo & Discovery Channel "building" shows, China is always a feature, building the biggest, the tallest and widest structures in the world.

In the Philippines, endless hearings, court orders, settlements, evictions & relocations are needed before a project pushes through. Which is the right thing to do of course but somehow it slows down growth. Sometimes, we need to act fast, think fast and think right for us to be at par with the neighbors (Kuala Lumpur, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore to name a few). I was able to find pic of downtown City of Manila circa 1990 and a photo taken last year but I rather not post. I don't want you to be sad.