On January 29th this year, the Reagan Administration announced that the Republic of China, South Korea, Singapore, and Hong Kong--Asia's four little dragons--would be stripped next year of the tariff privileges they have enjoyed in the U.S. as developing countries under the General System of Preferences.
Singapore and South Korea have protested vehemently. Demonstrations were held, and both countries plan to accuse the United States before the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade of violating regulations that the privileges be applied to nations with an annual per capita income of less than US$8,000.
On Taiwan, on the other hand, the reaction among businessmen and experts was calm and subdued.
Businessmen think that the move won't hurt the R.O.C. much so long as the four little dragons all "graduate" together and continue to compete on an equal footing. Experts consider the R.O.C. to be an economically "gifted student"--they expect it to enter the ranks of the world's top ten trading nations in the next five years and to surpass Japan as the nation with the greatest foreign exchange reserves --and early graduation for a gifted student is not unreasonable.
What does the American side say?
According to Washington-based reporter Louise Ran Costick, U.S. policy makers believe that Taiwan already has considerable economic clout, and they hope that it will play a role on the international stage "more suited to its status."
In fact, the advanced industrial countries of Europe and the developing countries of the Third World also hope that the R.O.C. will expand its international role. The advanced countries look for more cooperation in world economic affairs, while the developing countries wish to learn some of the nation's secrets of success. Recently, for example, the president and vice president of Dominica, the president of El Salvador, and the finance minister of Honduras all took time to visit the Taipei World Trade Center during their visits of condolence to Taiwan on the passing of President Chiang Ching-kuo, and they all expressed great interest in studying Taiwan's economic development and in encouraging Chinese investment.
The call for the nation to work harder at fulfilling its international economic obligations has been made in recent years domestically, as well. In this way, more and more people feel, the country can win greater respect, can make more friends, and can obtain support in breaking out of its diplomatic difficulties and in returning to international economic organizations.
"We're economically stronger now," says Wang Chien-hsuan, administrative vice minister of the Ministry of Economic Affairs, "Internationally we've got to respect our obligations, but since we aren't members of many international organizations, we have no way correspondingly to enjoy our rights."
The R.O.C. withdrew from many international organizations in the past chiefly because of unacceptable demands that it change its name. Now the government has decided to adopt a more flexible approach in order to return to them.
What other steps can the country take to fulfill its international obligations? In the past the R.O.C. offered technical assistance in medicine and agriculture to many countries in Africa and Latin America. More recently it has continually striven to lower tariffs, open up domestic markets, and raise the exchange rate of the NT dollar.
Another measure, under discussion for the past year, is the establishment of an international economic cooperation fund to assist friendly developing countries. The Ministry of Economic Affairs recently decided to raise the first-year budget for the fund from NT$2.8 billion to NT$30 billion (over US$1 billion) and to allocate NT$2.5 billion to the fund each year thereafter.
Also rapidly coming to fruition is a plan by the China External Trade Development Council to hold an international trade show for developing countries this August in Taipei. At the exhibition, which will be called the Taipei Import Fair, developing countries from around the world will be able to set up national stands to display each country's agricultural products, investment climate, and tourist resources in order to help them open up markets in the R.O.C. and neighboring countries. Besides charging no rental fees, the council will provide basic facilities, help arrange manpower and materials, supply market information, and assist participants in contacting buyers.
"We've estimated that the exhibition will cost us NT$25 million to NT$30 million, not including the ten or twenty people who're working on it full-time," says Mou Tun, director of market development in the China External Trade Development Council. "But it's worth every penny in raising the nation's image."
Over a hundred formal letters of invitation have been sent out, but even before they were, a dozen or so countries contacted heard the news and contacted the council on their own.
"Other newly industrialized countries were very interested, too, but we told them they weren't invited," Mou says. "We told them they should be holding exhibitions like this themselves."
A change is taking place. Ever since the R.O.C.'s economic take-off, its trade rivals have demanded negotiations, and its trade representatives have repeatedly been criticized by the public as giving away too much. But now the government and experts have begun to pay more attention to how the nation can better fulfill its international obligations. The country's role on the international stage is changing from "taking" to "giving," from passivity to positive action.
The Republic of China is bidding farewell to its role of the past.
[Picture Caption]
In the future the R.O.C. will aid developing countries in commercial and economic development. An example is the Taipei Import Fair, to be held at the Taipei World Trade Center.
The R.O.C. often sent agricultural teams to developing countries in the past to help them improve their agricultural techniques.
Sending purchasing groups to the U.S. to help reduce the Sino-American trade imbalance is another way for the R.O.C. to meet its international obligations.
The R.O.C. is participating in the Olympics under the name "Chinese Taipei." (photo courtesy of United Daily News)
The R.O.C. received a great deal of foreign aid before its economy took off. Shown here is the signing of a loan granted on favorable terms to the Taiwan Sugar Corp. by the Chase Manhattan Bank in 1976. (photo courtesy of Central News Agency)
The R.O.C. often sent agricultural teams to developing countries in the past to help them improve their agricultural techniques.
Sending purchasing groups to the U.S. to help reduce the Sino-American trade imbalance is another way for the R.O.C. to meet its international obligations.
The R.O.C. is participating in the Olympics under the name "Chinese Taipei." （photo courtesy of United Daily News）
The R.O.C. received a great deal of foreign aid before its economy took off. Shown here is the signing of a loan granted on favorable terms to the Taiwan Sugar Corp. by the Chase Manhattan Bank in 1976. （photo courtesy of Central News Agency）
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