ABSTRACT
This chapter examines Taiwan's experience of economic development and political change. It looks at the period prior to the economic boom of the 1960's. The original Han Chinese settlers brought the culture and social structure of the mainland with them to Taiwan. The population density in 1989 was more than 558 people per square kilometer. Taiwan has virtually no natural resources besides forests and moderate deposits of coal, natural gas, and some minerals. The Chinese are further classified by when they or their ancestors came to Taiwan. General Liu Ming-ch'uan arrived from the mainland to bolster the island's defenses, and in 1887 Taiwan was upgraded to provincial status. Taiwan's support of agriculture and its delay in industrialization stand in sharp contrast to virtually every other developing country in the postwar world. By 1952 Taiwan's economy had recovered to prewar peaks and the political situation had stabilized. Among the island's advantages was the Kaohsiung Export Processing Zone in southern Taiwan.
