Abstract
Since the national government withdrew from mainland China in 1949, the Republic of China on Taiwan (ROC), through public commitment and private initiative, has achieved what has been recognized worldwide as an “economic miracle,” and has consistently been rated one of the world’s top economic performers in terms of both growth and equity. As Taiwan has transformed from a developing to a newly developed nation, the driving force propelling this growth has shifted from the agricultural to the industrial and most recently to the service sector.
Rapid economic growth, industrialization, and recent political democratization have enabled Taiwan to transform poverty into rela- tive affluence, realizing the economic dream envisioned by Dr. Sun Yat-sen in the Principle of the People’s Livelihood. Such success has also strengthened the confidence of our people in their ability to cope with future challenges and to complete the transformation of the ROC on Taiwan into a fully developed industrial society before the close of this century. At the same time, we are keenly aware of a number of serious difficulties which, if left unresolved, could hinder our future economic development or perhaps completely derail it.