2025-11-14
33 分钟The Economist.
In the year 581, a group of Chinese migrants drifting far off the coast in their wooden junks,
came upon a lush, green island rising out of the South China Sea.
Once upon a time, Taiwan was just a sleepy little island, running on fishing and farming, sugar and rice. Not anymore.
Taiwan's high-tech boom is often compared to Silicon Valley,
where hefty IT salaries fuel economic growth,
but also push living costs to new heights, and widen the gap between the rich and poor.
Today, Taiwan dominates the business of advanced semiconductors, the chips that are fueling the AI boom,
and its stock market is the 10th largest in the world by market cap.
All this sounds like good news, until you examine just how heavily the island leans toward exports.
And that is becoming a problem.
US President Donald Trump's sweeping tariffs on dozens of countries took effect on Wednesday.
Taiwan was hit with a 20% tariff on most of its goods.
The island is currently facing multiple threats: from tariffs, from earthquakes, and of course, from Chinese aggression.
But there's another threat you don't hear so much about.
And it's part of the reason Taiwan has become such a successful exporter.
It's the currency.
So today, what is Taiwan's currency policy?
And how is it shaping the country?
You're listening to Money Talks from The Economist.