21-3 LS

Profesor Xu Wenxing, from Taiwan, unveiled an invention he had been working on for 10 years Computerized fingerprint-recognition device It was soon put to use. Besides Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore, and South Korea also became aggressive with economic growth Their nickname was “Asian Tigers” All 4 nations were influenced by China and by Confucian traditions

Both Taiwan and Hong Kong have deep cultural and historical links to China Neither experienced Mao’s communist revolution The island of Taiwan was once ruled by the mainland Today, People’s Republic still considers it part of China 1997, Hong Kong was returned to China after more than a century under British colonial rule

The island of Taiwan was ruled by China until 1895 When it fell to Japan. Japanese built some industry, providing a foundation for later growth In 1945, Taiwan reverted to China Jiang Jieshi fled the mainland in 1949, then set up his Nationalist government on Taiwan Taiwan experienced rapid economic growth and enjoyed United State’s support

First, Taiwan set up light industries such as textiles Later, it developed heavy industry The Green Revolution of the 1960s helped Taiwan’s agriculture become more productive Trade boomed Industrial cities grew Standard of living rose to the highest in Asia Government allowed people more political freedom Hostility between Taiwan and the mainland eased after the Cold War ended China insisted that Taiwan rejoined with them Taiwan’s government said no

Besdies political despites, economic ties between Taiwan and China grew Taiwanese businesses invested in joint ventures on the mainland Trade increased China pushed to expand trade with Taiwan In hopes that stronger links would help resolve their political differences Occasional Chinese military exercises were a stark reminder of the threat to Taiwan

Britain gained the tiny island of Hong Kong after the Opium War Hong Kong and nearby territories grew into a center of trade 1949, millions of refugees from the Chinese Revolution flooded into Hong Kong This provided labor and capital to help the area. The new prosperity was based on trade and light industry Like textiles and electronics Also became a world financial center with many foreign banks and a busy stock market Many foreign banks and a busy stock market Wealth from these profitable industries helped Hong Kong modernize

The growth had a lot to do to its location on China’s doorstep Hong Kong Chinese built commercial ties to the mainland This gave Hong Kong the chance to buy and sell goods with a market that was unavailable to many other countries In 1997, Britain returned Hong Kong to China Beijing agreed not to change Hong Kong’s social or economic system for 50 years and to allow it’s people to self govern Many residents remained nervous about China’s power and use of repressive measures against protests

Smallest Asian tiger is the city-state of Singapore Sits on a tiny island at the tip of Malay Peninsula in Southeast Asia 200 square miles About 2 million population 1819, British empire builder Sir Stamford Raffles leased the island from a local ruler He and his successors turned the island’ fishing villages into a seaport Singapore grew rapidly under British rule Population came to include Mayans, British merchants and sailors, and Chinese and Indian immigrants The Chinese with their Confucian tradition, became the dominant ethnic group

Singapore won independence first from Britian in 1959 Then nearby Malaya in 1963 Government welcomed skilled immagrants and insisted on education for all its people In both English and Chinese

Lee’s successors continued his strict policies Critics condemned limits on freedom The government claimed that order was more important than individual freedoms It faced demands for more rights from many of its young, well- educated citizens Its economy was influenced by events elsewhere It weathered the Asian financial crisis It also faced ethnic tensions between the Chinese majority and Malay and Indian minorities Singapore was seen as a model of successful development

South Korea emerged during the Cold War Occupies the southern half of the Korean peninsula Soviet Union and the United States agreed to a temporary division North Korea became a communist ally of the Soviet Union In South Korea, the United States backed the authoritatian leader Syngman Rhee

Both leaders wanted to end the division In early 1950, Kim II Sung called for a “heroic struggle” to reunite Korea North Korean troops attacked and soon overran most of the south US then organized a UN force to help South Korea UN forces were made up mostly of Americans and South Koreans Led by US general Douglas MacArthur He landed troops behind enemy lines Drove the invaders back across the 38 th parallel Pushed northward to the Yalu River MacArthur’s success alarmed China

Korean war turned into a stalemate In 1953, both signs signed an armistice The armistice has held for nearly 50 years, but no peace treaty has ever been negotiated More than a million North Korean and South Korean troops dug in on either side of the demilitarized zone End of the 1990s, American forces were still in South Korea to help the guarantee the peace After the war, two Koreas slowly rebuilt economies destroyed by the fighting and by years of Japanese occupation Both remained centers of Cold War tensions United States funneled aid to South, while the Soviets helped the north