tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10698887.post5137466080512871389..comments2023-10-22T18:25:39.688+08:00Comments on The View from Taiwan: Daily Links, Aug 10, 2009Michael Turtonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17974403961870976346noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10698887.post-80621537904269268332009-08-12T21:38:43.497+08:002009-08-12T21:38:43.497+08:00These pictures really show the devastation that ha...These pictures really show the devastation that has hit the Taiwanese people. GlobalGiving.com, the internationally recognized marketplace for philanthropy that connects individual donors to the causes they care most about, is also providing immediate assistance of Typhoon Morakot in Taiwan. Please donate at: http://www.globalgiving.com/projects/taiwan-typhoon-relief-and-assistance-fund/ .Jennahttp://www.globalgiving.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10698887.post-83927966829394821472009-08-11T10:20:47.742+08:002009-08-11T10:20:47.742+08:00The Commonwealth magazine makes a lot of assertion...The Commonwealth magazine makes a lot of assertions but provides very little in terms of either facts or arguments to back up those assertions.<br /><br />The article describes some efforts by the government to direct industry, but those efforts seem most significant in their "tax incentives" - or to put it another way, reducing taxes and getting the government out of the way so those industries can thrive. Some infrastructure projects are also mentioned but nothing extraordinary.<br /><br />Ignored are other factors like the industrial history and educated workforce Taiwan had developed as part of Japan. Also ignored is the fact that other potential low-cost exporters around the world such as China and countless British colonies that were gaining independence (including India) had generally embarked on disastrous communist or socialist economies that took them out of the competition. Also ignored is the fact that population growth is not necessarily a negative; as we clearly see in modern times cheap labor can be a real draw for industries.<br /><br />I've often wondered what really caused the economic boom in Taiwan. Sadly the Commonwealth Magazine article doesn't help much.Readinnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10698887.post-44005706606282076492009-08-11T02:31:35.095+08:002009-08-11T02:31:35.095+08:00This week’s Boston Globe “The Big Picture” feature...This week’s Boston Globe “The Big Picture” feature is about Morakat. Very good photos from Taiwan, China, and the Phillipines. (Those of you unfamiliar with The Big Picture will love it – I recommend checking out the Solar Eclipse feature too.) <br /><br />http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2009/08/typhoon_morakot.html<br /><br />As for state capitalism… give me a break. With the amount of money the US was pumping into a well-educated country with room to grow, it would’ve been difficult to screw up (yet the early years were indeed screwed up).Carloshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13079284428870214896noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10698887.post-58477387032536166322009-08-10T17:16:37.152+08:002009-08-10T17:16:37.152+08:00Awesome picture, props to the Bluesman.Awesome picture, props to the Bluesman.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10698887.post-5265055957580912772009-08-10T16:43:58.983+08:002009-08-10T16:43:58.983+08:00I have a few sources that would contradict Commonw...I have a few sources that would contradict Commonwealth Magazine (A GIO rag) and assert that the indigenous dynamic played a greater role in the Taiwan miracle. <br /><br />The state was actually forced to liberalize under US pressure. Taiwanese families who had seen their land subdivided by land reform maintained extended family networks from which they could draw on to provide capital and cheap labor. It was common for entire extended families to participate on some level in the small to medium sized family enterprise. <br /><br />In some cases entire towns like Cao Tun and Ho Mei employed these networks to participate in piece work for a single industry. Caotun had once been the umbrella capital and Homei a textile hub. <br /><br />Many of these enterprises also employed poor Waishengren to augment their own family labor pool.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com