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Globalization has helped many countries in improving their economic status. In this entry, I'll be touching on Taiwan's economic growth and how other countries has helped in Taiwan's economic growth (in essence, this is a result of globalization).

Japan, Singapore and South Korea have achieved record economic growth rates in the post-war era thanks to sound government policies. Without discrediting the work of their governments, one must acknowledge that those economies also benefited from exceptional circumstances such as the Korean War in the case of Japan. This is a way in which globalization strengthens a country's economic status, and often it works both ways (in other words, many countries benefit at the same time).

Japan had laid down a solid economic foundation before withdrawing from Taiwan in 1945. During the period of Japanese occupation, Taiwan supplied raw materials and agricultural products to Japan and a market for Japanese manufactured goods. However, Japan never intended to industrialize Taiwan. Instead, Japan wanted to replace local and Chinese values, institutions, and traditions with Japanese ones. The Chinese people were thus forced to study the Japanese language. And this is actually helpful on Taiwan's economic development as many industrial leaders' ability to speak and read the Japanese language and their knowledge of Japanese culture actually greatly helped to facilitate Japanese investment in Taiwan and Taiwan-Japan trade, and to acquire Japanese technology in the course of Taiwan's economic development over the forty years after World War II.

Also, Taiwan has gotten much help from more than two million Chinese mainlanders who went to Taiwan along with the Chinese National Government. They were made up of soldiers, teachers, professors, businessmen, industrialists, and government officials. As they had already been trained and acquired experience in industrial management and technology, education, administration, and the like, these groups of people thus made a great contribution to the increases in industrial technology and development in Taiwan. Other than Japan and the Chinese mainlanders, the sustained U.S. military and economic aid also played a crucial role in strengthening Taiwan's economic structure. As much as seventy-five percent of Taiwan's infrastructure investment came from U.S. economical aid. U.S also gave Taiwan access to the North American market without interfering with their protectionist policies.

Taiwan strengthened their economic status with much help from other countries. As Japan and U.S developed, countries such as Taiwan, China and Korea benefit at the same time too. And this works both ways, as Japan and U.S are able to make use of Taiwan, China and Korea to further build up their economic structure. Globalization works in many ways to help countries in improving their economy.