Why Taiwan Matters: Small Island, Global Powerhouse - Geopolitical Analysis & Business Opportunities for Entrepreneurs & Investors

Reading Professor Shelley Rigger's book about Taiwan helped me better appreciate the subtle and obvious complexities of Taiwan and enhanced my understanding of People's Republic of China. While Professor Rigger distilled these complexities into a mere 197 pages of text, her book is an easy read for those who know next to nothing about Taiwan and the PRC's long running "unshakeable goal" of subsuming Taiwan into the PRC's social, economic and political orbits. Indeed, this book is a superb primer on these critical issues.A study of the PRC would not be complete without understanding the issues masterfully presented and discussed (respectfully, realistically and lovingly) by Professor Rigger in her book entitled "Why Taiwan Matters: Small Island, Global Powerhouse." Brevity is often seen as an enemy to scholarly writing (by their authors), but in this case, brevity is appreciated and is a tremendous testament to Professor Rigger's mastery of the complex issues discussed in her book and her masterful (i.e., succinct and thorough) presentation of thereto.Taipei 101 is indeed a metaphorical and real symbol of the "lonesome" island that is Taiwan, which is a manufacturing and information technology global powerhouse. The resiliency, ingenuity and pragmatism of human beings are embodies by Taipei 101. It's fitting that Professor Rigger began her book by discussing Taipei 101: "the blue-glass tower . . . is everywhere in Taiwan."Professor Rigger captured the added complexities which confront Taiwan and its people with this apt metaphor: "The relationship between Taiwan and China today is like a failing marriage: the couple is separated, but not divorced. Taiwan independence would constitute a divorce -- Taiwan would begin using its 'maiden name.' Once a divorce is final, reconciliation is unlikely, so even though remaining separate is hardly Beijing's preference, it prefers separation to divorce. For Taiwan, the trick is to maintain as much freedom of action as it can without finalizing the divorce; the PRC's goal is to end the separation."This book helps one better appreciate how these issues may evolve and materialize in the future. Professor Rigger helps the reader understand and appreciate the fact that while a large proportion of Taiwanese (over 23 million strong) are of Chinese ancestry, Taiwan has its own unique self-identity, culture and history: e.g., Austronesians who settled in Taiwan about four thousand years ago and islanders who are native Hokkien and Hakka speakers.A study of the PRC scholarship should include the scholarship of Taiwan and this book is an instructive and insightful resource in that regard.