The Rise of Modern Taiwan

The subject of East Asia's modernisation has been an important theme in contemporary political economy. Much attention has focused on the way governments have managed to pursue high rates of economic growth especially in the manufacturing sector. The region has faced a range of problems following turbulence in the currency markets in the middle of 1997. Some countries fared worse than others in the subsequent currency depreciations. One state that fared better than most was Taiwan. The Rise of Modern Taiwan gives an account of the island's extraordinary economic performance from the retreat of the KMT forces to Taiwan in 1949 to the government's plans for turning the island into a regional operations centre for the twenty-first century. The book goes on to analyse Taiwan's key relationships with the two external factors that have the greatest influence on its past and that will continue to be important in its future, the United States of America and the People's Republic of China. Taiwan has also seen a growth of democratisation since 1987 and Taiwanese society has changed very significantly from that time. Given the current economic crises facing East Asia, including both Japan and South Korea, the question that intrigues many foreign observers is how will Taiwan develop into the twenty-first century? After all, it is one thing for backward economies to catch up with more developed states when they can benefit from existing technologies and economies of scale. This book argues that Taiwan's future is heavily dependent on the successful outcome of the APROC plan which in turn is dependent on Taiwan's relationships with both China and the ASEAN states.