Taiwan Fast Facts

Alright, we're settled in after our first whirlwind day here -- Taiwan is a fascinating country. BTW, I read most of Russert's "Big Russ and Me" on the flight over -- if you haven't read it, go pick up a copy. It's a very moving book. The book reminds me that I don't tell my dad that I love him enough, but like Big Russ says in the book, "he knows, and I know."

Taiwan is a little over a quarter of the size of Arkansas, but its population (23M) is almost ten times ours. I'm staying in the capital and largest city, Taipei, which is similar to Chicago in terms of population, except that it is much more densely populated. At 150 square miles, it is a little smaller than the size of the city limits of Little Rock and North Little Rock combined. Here's a picture I took on the way in from the airport. Taipei is a bustling city with high-rise residential units commonly towering over the ground-level shops they house:


This island is rich with history, but for purposes of a rudimentary summary, the Republic of China government relocated to Taiwan after losing the Chinese Civil War in 1949, where it maintains its democracy today. The political system is made up of the presidency and five major braches, or Yuan. Local governments include 18 counties, five autonomous municipalities, and two special municipalities (I'm still learning the difference between the two). The official language is Mandarin Chinese, the literacy rate is 97%, and the unemployment rate is around 4%.

Here's a picture I took of Taipei 101, the tallest building in the world. At 1,667 feet, it's a little over 200 feet taller than the Sears Tower in Chicago. On deck, though, is the 2,950 foot tall Burj Dubai (slated for completion in 2009), so Taipei won't hold the distinction long.


Taiwan has the world's 17th largest economy, and it produces more than half of the world's computer-related products, including notebook PCs (61%), LCD monitors (93%), and motherboards (75%). Taiwan's electronics makers thrive in anonymity, however. The top three Taiwan manufacturing companies for electronics are Hon Hai Precision Ind. Co. Ltd., Asustek Computer Inc., Quanta Computer Inc. Hon Hai is the largest private manufacturer in Taiwan and the world's largest supplier of connectors, barebone PCs and game consoles.

BenQ, an unknown maker (at least to me) of everything from notebook computers to LCD TVs to MP3 players, recently acquired the German mobile-phone giant Siemens and will become the world's fourth-largest mobile-phone company with total annual revenues of nearly $11 billion. Doing business with Taiwan can bring jobs - good paying ones - to Arkansas.

Currently, one one Taiwanese business has a location in Arkansas. Formosa Plastics Corporation, which is headquartered here in Taipei, manufactures corrugated polyethylene pipe, HDPE pressure pipe, and optic fiber duct pipe in Magnolia.