I didn’t know that Taiwan and Vietnam had good economic and cultural relations lately. The author mentioned that the trade between these two countries has ranched 3.3 billion. That means these two countries have close relations with each others even though the distance is far. I think Taiwan and Vietnam have very similar historical backgrounds.
*This is about Vietnam and Taiwan’s history things which I got some information from websites and this is my memory* Vietnam was colonized by French which started end of nineteen century. After World War II Vietnam was independent from French, but after that America and China was step in Vietnam’s political affairs, then Vietnam was getting into the Vietnam War. In Taiwan’s situation, Taiwan was colonized by China, Spain and Holland before nineteen century, After the Sino-Japanese War, Taiwan was colonized Japan for fifty years. Then After Word War II Taiwan was under the rule by China.
Also, both countries’ needs are perfectly matched. Taiwan needs Vietnam’s agricultural products, textiles, shoes and fruits. Vietnam needs to import Taiwan’s machinery, motorcycle, cement and vehicles. The big difference between these countries is that of a developed country and a developing country. My mental image of Vietnam is only of a country at war, but Taiwan has found and is helping to develop a good part of Vietnam’s industry. Taiwan has good eye on the economic possibilities.
Taiwan’s government is having a positive influence on other industry, such as tourism. A lot of Taiwanese visit Vietnam for sightseeing every year. Furthermore, Taiwan has schools that teach about Vietnam’s art and cultural school, so the people of Taiwan can learn Vietnam’s culture. These two countries are increasingly enjoying better economic relations.
http://www.taipeitimes.com/news/supplement/archives/2003/09/02/2003066173
