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Ask HN: Why is Taiwan such a technology powerhouse?

by mickjagger on 10/12/21, 3:28 AM with 6 comments

• by davidjytang on 10/12/21, 5:00 AM

  Personal perspective of a Taiwanese:

  1. Taiwan govt did something right in the 70's, e.g., establishing science parks[^1] as part of Ten Major Construction Projects[^2].

  2. Coverage of higher education. 51% of population of age 25~64 has postsecondary degree or higher. Only surpassed by Canada, Japan and Luxembourg in OECD countries[^3]. To achieve high coverage of higher education, I believe it is in major part influenced by the Taiwanese culture of studying.

  3. Again, govt started to minimize their rein and let private sector and market take over since 80's. Many business owners are always delighted to see less govt control/restriction. This coincide with the timeline of rapid democracy reform in Taiwan.

  One can always read up on the Taiwan Miracle[^4] regarding the broader stroke on the economic progression.

  [^1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hsinchu_Science_Park

  [^2]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ten_Major_Construction_Project...

  [^3]: https://nces.ed.gov/programs/coe/indicator/cac

  [^4]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taiwan_Miracle

• by jimmyvalmer on 10/12/21, 4:20 AM

  Take millennia of Confucian scholarship, and let it put down new roots on an island removed from the utter disaster that became of China during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Add a healthy dash of Japanese colonial influence and you get a Xerox PARC-like town called Hsinchu.