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Li Kwoh-ting
Li Kwoh-ting (traditional Chinese: 李國鼎; simplified Chinese: 李国鼎; pinyin: Lǐ Guódǐng; 28 January 1910 – 31 May 2001) was a Chinese economist and politician best known as the "Father of Taiwan's Economic Miracle" and referred to by the New York Times as the "Godfather of Technology" in Taiwan for his work in transforming Taiwan's economy from an agrarian-based system into one of the world's leading producers of information and telecommunications technology. His career spanned some 40 years, working for the Kuomintang government both before and after its defeat and subsequent retreat to Taiwan. His contributions continue to make him one of the most revered figures in Taiwanese history to this day.
Li was born in Nanjing on January 28, 1910, to a family from Wuyuan County, Jiangxi.
Li excelled in mathematics and physics at a young age. At 16 years old, he enrolled at National Central University to study mathematics and physics. After graduating with his Bachelor of Science (B.S.) in physics in 1930, he received a scholarship to pursue doctoral studies in England at the University of Cambridge. He left China for England in 1934 and studied superconductivity at the Cavendish Laboratory under professor Ernest Rutherford. He was a member of Emmanuel College, Cambridge.
Li withdrew from Cambridge and returned to China to support the Chinese war effort when Japan invaded China in 1937. He later fled to Taiwan in July 1948 with the Nationalist Party when the Chinese Communist Party took over China. He became the president of the China Shipbuilding Corporation in Taiwan in 1951 and was appointed as a member of the Industrial Development Commission responsible for the planning and economic development of Taiwan in 1953. In 1959 he became the head of the Industrial Development and Investment Center under the Council for United States Aid.
He held a number of leadership positions in industry and government in Taiwan, including that of economic minister from 1965 to 1969 and finance minister from 1969 to 1976. After 1976 he was appointed "Minister without portfolio" and promoted science and technology in Taiwan. In 1968, he received the Ramon Magsaysay Award for government service. He created a policy that helped attract entrepreneurs in the tech industry and helped fund Taiwan's electronics companies, which led to Taiwan's primacy as a producer of computer parts. Li had a very important role in the creation of TSMC, the world's largest chipmaker in 2023. He also helped build the Hsinchu Science Park, which later became known as Taiwan's Silicon Valley. The park is one of the world's leading centers for semiconductor manufacturing and industrial and computer technology development. As of 2018 more than 500 high-tech companies reside in the park. Li was also a senior adviser to the President of the Republic of China, Chen Shui-bian.
In total, Li was a government official for 40 years, 10 of which he spent in mainland China before the Chinese Communist Party won the civil war. Tony Fu-Lai Yu speculates that the time Li spent in China, as well as his science-based university education, greatly influenced his policy-making in Taiwan. Li had no formal training in economics, thus most of his knowledge of economic management was gained from practical experience and working with other economists. Consequently, Yu argues his policy was insulated from popular economic ideology and instead was driven by pragmatism. Li himself also claims that the purpose of his writings is to reveal his policy-making experiences for the future reference of other developing countries, and did not engage in writing about economic, administrative, or political science theory.
Yu argues that Li's policy-making can be explained by evolutionary economics. Two Yale economists, Gustav Ranis and John C.H. Fei, wrote the introductory essays to Li's 1995 book The Evolution of Policy Behind Taiwan's Development Success. Therefore, it can be interpreted that Ranis and Fei's views on economic policy are representative of Li's.
Ranis mainly writes on neo-classical growth theory, which claims that a steady economic growth rate can be achieved by correctly balancing the driving forces of labor, capital, and technology. He also writes on the concept of agricultural labor surplus economies which, in freeing up workers and generating agricultural surplus and leading to increased productivity in expanding commercial sectors.
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Li Kwoh-ting
Li Kwoh-ting (traditional Chinese: 李國鼎; simplified Chinese: 李国鼎; pinyin: Lǐ Guódǐng; 28 January 1910 – 31 May 2001) was a Chinese economist and politician best known as the "Father of Taiwan's Economic Miracle" and referred to by the New York Times as the "Godfather of Technology" in Taiwan for his work in transforming Taiwan's economy from an agrarian-based system into one of the world's leading producers of information and telecommunications technology. His career spanned some 40 years, working for the Kuomintang government both before and after its defeat and subsequent retreat to Taiwan. His contributions continue to make him one of the most revered figures in Taiwanese history to this day.
Li was born in Nanjing on January 28, 1910, to a family from Wuyuan County, Jiangxi.
Li excelled in mathematics and physics at a young age. At 16 years old, he enrolled at National Central University to study mathematics and physics. After graduating with his Bachelor of Science (B.S.) in physics in 1930, he received a scholarship to pursue doctoral studies in England at the University of Cambridge. He left China for England in 1934 and studied superconductivity at the Cavendish Laboratory under professor Ernest Rutherford. He was a member of Emmanuel College, Cambridge.
Li withdrew from Cambridge and returned to China to support the Chinese war effort when Japan invaded China in 1937. He later fled to Taiwan in July 1948 with the Nationalist Party when the Chinese Communist Party took over China. He became the president of the China Shipbuilding Corporation in Taiwan in 1951 and was appointed as a member of the Industrial Development Commission responsible for the planning and economic development of Taiwan in 1953. In 1959 he became the head of the Industrial Development and Investment Center under the Council for United States Aid.
He held a number of leadership positions in industry and government in Taiwan, including that of economic minister from 1965 to 1969 and finance minister from 1969 to 1976. After 1976 he was appointed "Minister without portfolio" and promoted science and technology in Taiwan. In 1968, he received the Ramon Magsaysay Award for government service. He created a policy that helped attract entrepreneurs in the tech industry and helped fund Taiwan's electronics companies, which led to Taiwan's primacy as a producer of computer parts. Li had a very important role in the creation of TSMC, the world's largest chipmaker in 2023. He also helped build the Hsinchu Science Park, which later became known as Taiwan's Silicon Valley. The park is one of the world's leading centers for semiconductor manufacturing and industrial and computer technology development. As of 2018 more than 500 high-tech companies reside in the park. Li was also a senior adviser to the President of the Republic of China, Chen Shui-bian.
In total, Li was a government official for 40 years, 10 of which he spent in mainland China before the Chinese Communist Party won the civil war. Tony Fu-Lai Yu speculates that the time Li spent in China, as well as his science-based university education, greatly influenced his policy-making in Taiwan. Li had no formal training in economics, thus most of his knowledge of economic management was gained from practical experience and working with other economists. Consequently, Yu argues his policy was insulated from popular economic ideology and instead was driven by pragmatism. Li himself also claims that the purpose of his writings is to reveal his policy-making experiences for the future reference of other developing countries, and did not engage in writing about economic, administrative, or political science theory.
Yu argues that Li's policy-making can be explained by evolutionary economics. Two Yale economists, Gustav Ranis and John C.H. Fei, wrote the introductory essays to Li's 1995 book The Evolution of Policy Behind Taiwan's Development Success. Therefore, it can be interpreted that Ranis and Fei's views on economic policy are representative of Li's.
Ranis mainly writes on neo-classical growth theory, which claims that a steady economic growth rate can be achieved by correctly balancing the driving forces of labor, capital, and technology. He also writes on the concept of agricultural labor surplus economies which, in freeing up workers and generating agricultural surplus and leading to increased productivity in expanding commercial sectors.