In 1950, Taiwan, post-colonial and war-ravaged, grappled with an economic downturn, amplified by the challenges of integrating 2 million refugees. Its GDP per capita then rivaled some of the world's poorest countries like Haiti and Madagascar. With looming threats from China and impending militaristic ambitions, Taiwan's future seemed uncertain. But fast-forward to today, and Taiwan is an economic marvel. With a median wealth surpassing most of Asia—including powerhouses like South Korea—and even rivaling Germany and the U.S., it's a beacon of prosperity. Taiwanese citizens rank among the world's most educated, their democratic governance is robust, and their high-tech industries play pivotal roles in global supply chains. Foxconn, Taiwan's tech giant, produces a speculated 40% of global consumer electronics, and up until recently, manufactured a staggering 80% of iPhones. Moreover, the country maintains a near monopoly on the manufacturing of semiconductors, a crucial component that powers everything in the modern world, from guided missiles, to modern cars and even the device you are using to read this description. From a colony of a militaristic empire to a thriving democracy, and from a backwards agrarian society, to technological Superpower, this is the remarkable story of Taiwan.

– Contents of this video ——————————–
00:00 – A Broken Island
04:37 – The Bread Basket Colony
08:53 – The White Terror u0026 Reforms
15:22 – The Boom
17:08 – The Miracle
19:54 – The World Abandons Taiwan
21:23 – High Tech Industry
24:17 – Too Much Money u0026 Too Little Profit
26:33 – Making China Rich
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
THIS CHANNEL IS MADE POSSIBLE WITH THE HELP OF PATREON!
Support the channel by becoming a Patron today! https://www.patreon.com/CasualScholar

Thank you to the channel's generous Patrons!
Hayden Haun, Emmanuel Fredenrich, Pulaski, A Fan, robin valero

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

– Sources used ———————————————

Making Money: How Taiwanese Industrialists Embraced the Global Economy
By: Gary G. Hamilton u0026 Cheng-Shu Kao

A Brief History of Taiwan – a Sparrow Transforming into a Phoenix
By: FU-SAN HUANG

Historical GDP Per Capita: Maddison Project Database 2020 (Bolt and van Zanden, 2020)

Wealth Per Adult: Credit Suisse Global Wealth Databook 2022

Democracy Index: https://www.eiu.com/n/campaigns/democracy-index-2022/

https://press-files.anu.edu.au/downloads/press/p94971/pdf/article07.pdf

https://www.jstor.org/stable/58529dd3-2265-33db-923b-6d7f0a67e232?read-now=1u0026seq=9

https://milkeninstitute.org/sites/default/files/reports-pdf/Recapturing-the-Taiwan-Miracle.pdf

http://homepage.ntu.edu.tw/~ntut019/ltes/Sugar-Tea-Policy-en.pdf

https://www.economist.com/special-report/2023/03/06/taiwans-dominance-of-the-chip-industry-makes-it-more-important

#economics #History #Taiwan #CasualScholar #EconomicHistory #TaiwanHistory