@kebosabi
Whom do you mean with "we"? FT is largely an international forum.
As for Japan, we'll they got a fresh re-start: we bombed their cities down to ashes during WW2 -
As for China, they are an authoritarian communist country. They want a HSR, they draw a line through a map and bulldoze anything in its path. Oh there are homes and businesses there? Sucks to be them, they have no rights to question government projects. Oh there was a four year baby inside the home? Too bad. Oh there's a mountain in the way? Dynamite it. Tree-huggers? Kill 'em. Toxic industrial waste? Meh, bury them. How do you think China is able to build HSR in a matter of years? Because in China, the government has absolute power and the citizens don't.
Maybe you should not forget that China has move forward quite a bit in the last decade.
Just look at the protests against the Beijing - Shenyang High-Speed Rail and Maglev extension projects. City Governments will listen to its citizens.
Its not black and white as portrayed by Fox News, Sen. Cruz and the Heritage Foundation?
Moreover, why are most High-Speed lines built on more expensive pylons. Right, so that the farmers could still keep their land.