Edwin J. Feulner
My recent trip to Taiwan, where I presented President Lai Ching-te with the 2025 “Index of Economic Freedom,” highlighted the many changes I’ve witnessed over the course of dozens of visits since 1971. Despite constant threats from mainland China, what it’s managed to achieve is truly remarkable.
Walking the streets of Taipei, Taiwan’s capital city, today, you’d never know this island nation was under martial law as recently as 1987 or that it held its first direct presidential election in 1996. Its transition from economic dud to economic dynamo has aptly been dubbed the “Taiwan Miracle.”
Consider the numbers. Of 184 countries graded in the 2025 Index of Economic Freedom, Taiwan finished at number four—trailing only its neighbors Singapore, Switzerland, and Ireland.
On measure after measure, Taiwan scores well above the global average. Property rights are secure, government spending is low, fiscal health is strong, and trade freedom is robust.
Taiwan has built prosperity on a solid foundation: Thousands of small and medium-sized businesses. These enterprises, sometimes called “an army of ants,” have adapted to the nation’s changing circumstances and adjusted to fluctuations in international markets.
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The strength of this “army” lies with Taiwan’s people. Well-educated, industrious and entrepreneurial, they’ve proven that individual initiative coupled with economic freedom brings prosperity, even to an island that’s diplomatically isolated.
Just as competition strengthened Taiwan’s economy, it has strengthened its political institutions, even in the face of frequent intimidation from Beijing. Its long-standing ties with the U.S.—which helped contain the spread of Communism—have been a crucial element in its success.
Take the semiconductor industry, which is key to Taiwan’s economy. As China expert Michael Cunningham recently noted, China desperately wants to overtake the U.S. as the global leader of the semiconductor industry. But it trails the U.S. » Read More
https://www.heritage.org/china/commentary/how-keep-taiwan-secure-and-prosperous
