Taiwan’s Modernization: Americanization And Modernizing Confucian Manifestations

This work is part of a broad examination of Confucianism and its implications for modernization of the Confucian regions (covering mainland China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Macau, Vietnam, Japan, South Korea, North Korea, and Singapore). It is mainly concerned with the industrialization and modernization of Taiwan. In order to understand the process of modernization, the text provides an introduction to the history of Taiwan and to Confucianism and its modern implications. As far as social and economic principles are concerned, Taiwan’s modernization is, according to the author, characterized by Americanization and modernizing Confucian manifestations. The text demonstrates that Taiwan has actually provided an important case study not only for the capitalist spirit of overseas Chinese, but also for possible implications of Confucianism for modernization. In explaining Taiwan’s modernization, it deals not only with economic and social issues, but also examines the philosophical foundations.