ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the growing importance of social groups and their influence on the state's formulation of cross-Straits economic policy. It provides a discussion of state-business relations during Taiwan's authoritarian era. The chapter follows by tin analysis of the rise of big business and the strategies it has used to influence economic policymaking in Taiwan. It discusses the investment activities of big business in China and the bargaining process with the state, as well as the implications of the new type of state-business relationship. During the authoritarian era, political and economic resources were monopolized by the state. The state provided a highly protected domestic market for big enterprises and received political support in return. Enterprises invest money in election campaigns. The amount of donations ranges from US$20,000 to US$200,000, depending on the degree of intimacy. Kuomintang enterprises were in the habit of forming joint ventures with state enterprises. These ventures included stock brokerages and investment, insurance, and construction companies.
