I completely missed this. Taiwan Journal had a piece on K. T. Li, a person many regard as the godfather of Taiwan's hi tech industry. He was there at the beginning and helped to import many technologies to Taiwan. He was instrumental in getting the neccessary funding for TSMC and for helping to start the company. Without him the technology landscape here would be very different.
Please follow the link to read the article: Nation commemorates 'godfather of technology', its worth taking the time. And if this arouses your interest, you can try to find a copy of K.T Li and the Taiwan Experience, an excellent biography of K. T. Li (although the English is a little rough). If you are in Taiwan, I know the Taiwan University library has a copy that you may borrow.
3 comments:
K.T. Li was visionary and a remarkable man. But it doesn't serve anyone right that in order to lionize him, the Taiwan Journal article needs to come up with some bullshit about leading Taiwan "out of post-war ruins".
Taiwan was left relatively untouched by World War II and the infrastructure the Japanese created in Taiwan was invaluable and modern for the time. What happened was after the Japanese left and the KMT took over, they stole, they created government monopolies, they created hyperinflation, and they were corrupt. Especially the few years after 1945, Taiwan was overtaken by what amounts to uniformed goons and thugs. Remember that hyperinflation is essentially the govt stealing from the general public. They made Taiwan poor and a command economy with lots of illegitimate govt monopolies before they liberalized and gave ordinary Taiwanese the chance and the environment to make an honest buck.
On 228, this solemn day of remembrance, it'd be difficult to not also mention the untold economic cost of killing 30,000 of the most well educated, most outspoken Taiwanese.
Anyways, my main point is these ruins had very little to do with the war, and modern infrastructure in Taiwan.
In the end, I suppose K.T. Li was exactly right--just give people the chance, the right investment environment, and everything else will naturally follow. It's just too bad that the KMT first destroyed the investment environment before K.T. Li could come in and help improve it.
Maybe it's just a sentence, but it seems part of a larger trend of good govt publications like the Taiwan Journal getting a deep ideological tinge since the presidency changed hands.
You know, quite contrary to providing a good, open investment climate that K.T. Li advocated, the KMT also shipped right back to Japan all the Japanese engineers in Taiwan at the time, forbade trade with Japan (how do you get parts?!), and banned the Japanese language. Japan, was disagraced after WWII, but it was still the most industrialized and the country nearest to Taiwan with the most technological know how. Forbidding Taiwanese access to it when all the educated adult Taiwanese could speak fluent Japanese is just mind boggling to me.
Hi Anon,
Yeah, I don't disagree with your sentiments and feelings at all. to be honest I am not so well versed in Postwar Taiwanese politics and economic issues but most of what you said does sound about right.
My intent though was to focus on KT Li who I do think was, as you say, a visionary. I believe even Morris Chang has acknowledges his impact and influence in the creation of TSMC.
Taiwan was lucky that they had someone capable of cleaning up the mess.
Once again, thanks for your comments. As ever they educate and inform and its appreciated.
Take care.
Paul
Post a Comment