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BUSTLING STREETS
of downtown
Taipei (feft) symbofize booming
economies of free Asia. The
continued presence of U.S. peace–
keeping torces. such
as
sofdier
standing guard in Korean DMZ
(opposite page),
has
made
Asia 's
rapid economic devefopment
possibfe.
BIG
F~AD
Throughout the Orient, economies are booming. But there is oneiN
potentially fatal flaw. Much depends on America's defense
commitments to its Asían allies. How certain is this commitment now?
by
Gene H. Hogbe'g
and
Ke;th W. Stump
ASIA.
e hav e just
completed a
three-week. s ix-
nation fact-finding
trip in Asia. and one
overaU impression stands out: There
could be sorne momentous and far–
reaching changes in that part of the
world in the near future - and none
of them augur well for the prospects
of world peace.
But for the moment , de pite the
first ill winds of stormy polüical
weather. economic fortunes
throughout the places we visited–
Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Hong
Kong, Singapore and the Philip–
pines-are good, in most cases better
than ever befare in history.
Phenomena l Growth Rates
Everywhere we traveled. we saw
prosperity at levels the nations of
Asia have never before experienced.
The big cities of Asia- Tokyo. Os-
4
aka. Seoul. Taipei, Hong Kong. Sin–
gapore. Manila- are fast undergoing
face-lifts. New high-rise office build–
ings and hotels are going up at
furious rates. Streets are being torn
up for new subways or c rosstown
motorways.
The national economies every–
where are booming. Sights are ·set
high. Everyone is trying to catch up.
first of all. with Japan. then ulti–
mately with America. in per capita
gross na tional prod ue
t.
And of
course Japan is by no means stand–
ing still. this year chalking up an–
other enormous trade surplus.
But the Koreans and the Ta iwa–
nese are dogging Tokyo's heels,
often irritating their big Asían rival
by grabbing away business. such
as supertanker construction.
once thought to be a Japanese
monopoly.
Everywhere the lot of the com–
mon.man is steadily improving.
In 1961. the Republic of Korea's
per capita GNP was a pitiful $83.
By 1976 it had zoomed to a shade
under $700. By 1981 it
is
hoped that
it wi ll rise to $ 1.500. Korea's econ–
omy grew a phenomenal 15 percent
in 1976, and the increase this year
should range anywhere between 10
and 13 percent. This year alone. the
Koreans are hopeful of generating
$20 billion in foreign trade.
On Taiwan an even greater eco–
nomic miracle is being achieved. In
1976. per capita GNP stood at $809:
during the same year, Taiwan's
economy grew at a rate of 11 .5 per–
cent. the indus trial sector grew 23.7
percent. and foreign trade soared
nearly 40 percent.
In Southeast Asia. the tiny (only
25 miles long and 14 miles wide)
city-state of Singapore has writ–
ten a remarkable economic success
story. The pullout of the British
from their naval base in 1966 dealt
The
PLAIN TRUTH October-November 1977