ABSTRACT
In contemporary global economic terms Taiwan remains a stand-out society even amongst the high performing Asian NICs. For, while other developing societies, from South Korea to Indonesia, suffered serious setbacks to their economies after the Asian economic meltdown in 1997, Taiwan continued to grow, although more slowly, particularly since some of those countries most affected were trading partners. Thus, unemployment in Taiwan stands in 2001 at around 3%, as compared to 1% prior to 1997. Amongst Taiwan’s four hundred thousand Aboriginal population unemployment stands at about 7%. While other NICs struggle with issues of financial administrative transparency and industrial restructuring involving massive lay-offs of labour to meet IMF bail-out loan conditions (Chessudowsky 1998), Taiwan’s current concerns are how to stay ahead in the global economic race - such as whether to install a fourth nuclear reactor, and how to establish a biotechnology industry.
