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Excerpts
Background Note
Early History
Before World War II, Taiwan had been a colony of Japan. At that time, agricultural production was dominant. During the war, Japan used Taiwan as a wartime supply base, developing munitions-related industries with astonishing speed...
Recent History
By the early 1990s, with its vast trade surplus, foreign investment profile, and overseas Chinese networks, Taiwan had become a major economic and financial power in the region...
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The Economy
After its independence in 1945, the state played a dominant role in Taiwan's economic development although the private sector was also encouraged. From the mid-1970s, private business became more independent...
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Industry
In the 1950s and 60s, Taiwan's main strength had been its abundant supply of cheap labor. Consequently, labor-intensive industries, which produced consumer goods such as foodstuffs and textiles, at first largely for domestic consumption but after 1960, increasingly for export dominated...
Foreign Trade
Foreign trade had been the engine of Taiwan's rapid growth during the past 50 years. The export oriented economy depended on an open world trade regime and remained highly vulnerable to downturns in the world economy... |
Excerpts Contd...>>
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