the Organization for
Taiwan Nation Building

International organization participation:
APEC, AsDB, BCIE, ICC, ICFTU, IOC, WCL, WTO

Diplomatic representation in the US:
none; unofficial commercial and cultural relations with the people
of the US are maintained through an unofficial instrumentality, the
Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office (TECRO) in the US
with headquarters in Taipei and field offices in Washington and 12
other US cities

Diplomatic representation from the US:
none; unofficial commercial and cultural relations with the people
on Taiwan are maintained through an unofficial instrumentality - the
American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) - which has offices in the US and
Taiwan; US office at 1700 N. Moore St., Suite 1700, Arlington, VA
22209-1996, telephone: [1] (703) 525-8474, FAX: [1] (703) 841-1385);
Taiwan offices at #7 Lane 134, Hsin Yi Road, Section 3, Taipei,
Taiwan, telephone: [886] (2) 2162-2000, FAX: [886] (2) 2162-2251; #2
Chung Cheng 3rd Road, 5th Floor, Kao-hsiung, Taiwan, telephone:
[886] (7) 238-7744, FAX: [886] (7) 238-5237; and the American Trade
Center, Room 3208 International Trade Building, Taipei World Trade
Center, 333 Keelung Road Section 1, Taipei, Taiwan 10548, telephone:
[886] (2) 2720-1550, FAX: [886] (2) 2757-7162

Flag description:
red with a dark blue rectangle in the upper hoist-side corner
bearing a white sun with 12 triangular rays

Economy Taiwan

Economy - overview:
Taiwan has a dynamic capitalist economy with gradually decreasing
guidance of investment and foreign trade by government authorities.
In keeping with this trend, some large government-owned banks and
industrial firms are being privatized. Exports have provided the
primary impetus for industrialization. The trade surplus is
substantial, and foreign reserves are the world's third largest.
Agriculture contributes 2% to GDP, down from 32% in 1952. While
Taiwan is a major investor throughout Southeast Asia, China has
become the largest destination for investment and has overtaken the
US to become Taiwan's largest export market. Because of its
conservative financial approach and its entrepreneurial strengths,
Taiwan suffered little compared with many of its neighbors from the
Asian financial crisis in 1998. The global economic downturn,
combined with problems in policy coordination by the administration
and bad debts in the b