In our research, Taiwanese say innovation is poor in Taiwan because the government tends to invest in big companies or companies which are already innovating and they want to make a quick buck from, and tend not to invest in SMEs. The quality of innovation is also ...
https://twitter.com/tculpan/status/1363514722016878597
... not monitored, leading to companies reporting on good outcomes on paper but with many so-called innovations not being followed up on, or not real. Research funds are also given due to 關係 (guanxi), resulting in younger/returning Taiwanese not getting research funds.
There's of course the usual issues of Taiwan's low salary, a lack of educational reforms, which therefore means the low wages results in subpar quality work, and the system gets stuck. A culture therefore develops where Taiwanese workers do not question the system, ...
... they do what they are told, they do not question the underlying flaws of a system, and things don't change, don't innovate. All these are what Taiwanese say. Problem is, the government knows this, the 大老 (older people) know this, nobody wants to change the system, ...
... because they benefit from it by continuing to get funds and power, and there's the lazy reasoning and fear that Taiwan might not succeed if it changes. And so, there's the continued investment in semiconductor because that's what Taiwan is good at, but this ...
... demeans the whole generations of intelligent Taiwanese being produced (Taiwan's Pisa ranking is tops), and insults the capabilities of Taiwanese youths who say they are waiting for their time to shine, but aren't given the chance to do so.
Taiwan has tremendous potential to become bigger and more recognized. It proved it with #COVID19 and semiconductor. Taiwanese knows how to change, to move forward but the system doesn't want to. I thought this meant changing how government works, empowering youths and workers,...
... by strengthening labor unions and reform the education systems, or by changing how government works, if Taiwan is to regain its potential, but there's little political will to do so. If Taiwan wants to transform, then its democracy has to work, people have to be empowered.
Otherwise, if Taiwan champions its democracy only on paper, while not having commensurate democratization processes, then Taiwan will face what other democratizing regimes faces, it will fall back into autocracy. Democracy cannot be just for show.
Oh, and the reason you don't hear about these research? Many times, researchers tone down reports to ministries because they are afraid being too honest means research funding will be cut, or that ministries actually tell them to take out the critical bits (they don't like it).
So Taiwan doesn't grow because it suffers from a corruption within that requires the problems that everyone can see and has solutions for to be recognized, and for political and social will to be there to transform. Also, Taiwanese are too polite and indirect when they speak, ...
... so much so the problems keep being swept under the carpet. Just telling you what I'm told and heard. Don't kill the messenger. I'm not Taiwanese but what I'm saying is what other Taiwanese have told me. And until we are brave enough to acknowledge these and ...
... discuss about these, then we are going to keep championing Taiwan's successes in #COVID19 & semiconductor while ignoring the rot within. Whether Taiwan can move forward depends on whether Taiwan is brave enough to have a real conversation on these issues. @iingwen @DPPonline
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