the greatest story never told Taiwan site . logo . '09 Calendar		RICH IS NOT POOR, period. *Taiwan* *has the lowest poverty rate in human history, hence the Richest Country*.. There has been only one other country referred to as such (usually by herself). Let's compare Taiwan to "the Other Richest Country", and to the second largest economy in the world Miss Taiwan meets the press "Best Taiwan Site of the Year", "fascinating factoids!", "you guys should be real proud!"........
THE MOST	CATEGORY	TAIWAN "the Richest Country" Siõng Hó-giäh	U.S. "the Other Richest Country"	JAPAN
RICHEST	poverty rate	0.9% lowest in human history	12.6%	approx. 10%	Taiwan has the lowest poverty rate in the world (CIA World Factbook).... Taiwanese wage war against world hunger ....the 19th "30-hr Famine"
HEALTHIEST	2008 Nobel Laureate Krugman encourages US to learn from Taiwanese Healthcare	nationwide smoke-free environment at public and work places starting Jan. 11, 2009; healthcare system ranks second globally	no national healthcare system; 30+ % without medical or dental insurance; medical insurance premium 10 times higher as % of income	high smoking rate across all age and gender groups	full-size
MOST DEMOCRATIC	most vibrant democracy in Asia..... freer freedom of press than U.S......No. 1 free press in Asia two years in a row			just like Singapore the same party rules since "Day 1"	Western press darling Singapore ranks 147th out of 195 countries in freedom of press
FIRST 21ST CENTURY COUNTRY	cell phone ownership rate	100%, highest in the world, a truly 21st Century country (as of Aug. 2002)	both approx. 50% or half of Taiwan as of Aug. 2002		Aug. 2002 Readers' Digest; more cell phones than population of 23 millions. As of 2008 both US and Japan leave a significant portion of their citizens behind in the last century. Approx. 25% of them. Permanently.
GREENEST	Recycling Rate	the highest recycling rate in the world the first country to implement plastic recycling as a nation-wide program industries to plant trees in other countries	4% of world population 25% of the waste	Taiwan Tea	only about 40 percent of all waste is recyclable, Taiwan is actually recycling more than 80 percent of all recyclable waste "Taiwanese disposable, recyclable paper cup" in action (lower right) "ask me about recycle" Tee ..
WIDEST BROADBAND	broad band	nearly 100% coverage geographically penetration No. 1 or 2; US No. 15 CNN Feb. 4, 2009
WIDEST WIRELESS INTERNET	widest Wi-fi	Taipei has world's largest Wi-fi (and upcoming WiMAX)
TALLEST	skyscraper	tallest and strongest in the world, 2001-2009			Taipei 101 structurally rated as earthquake and 9-11 proof
MOST RATIONAL(arguably the smartest)	best in math literacy	ranked No. 1 out of 37 since 2006 PISA assessment (first year Taiwan participated)	rank 35 in PISA assessment	10 out of 37 in PISA assessment	math mostly is not about numbers, but about logic and rational thinking, as English is not Spelling Bees; math embodies respect and practice of rationality and structured common sense
FASTEST TRANSPORT	bullet train	THSR 20% ridership; 80% accessibility	N/A	10% ridership; 40% accessibility	eight out of ten Taiwanese are within 1 hour of Taiwanese Bullet; in contrast, less than 40% of Japanese are
FREEDOM OF SPEECH	freedom of press	No. 1 in Asia, 2 years in a row	rank 20 places lower than Taiwan	No. 2 in Asia behind Taiwan	Reporters without Boarders only Taiwan, Japan, and S. Korea have free press in Asia; Singapore ranks 147/195, Hong Kong 67/195, China 181/195
RIGHT TO WORK	employment rate	96% (4% unemployed May '08)	94.5 % (5.5% unemployed May '08)	96 % (4% unemployed '08)	France 8.7% unemployed; Germany 9% (early '08)
MOST EDUCATED	Ph.D. per capita	highest in the world both domestic and international education	half are not home grown		Taiwan Semiconductor has 2 Ph.D.’s. key executives; Intel has none; overall college education cost is approx. one-fifth of that of the U.S.; college grad per capita is approx. triple those of U.S.
MOST EDUCATED	college graduates		California high school drop-out rate 25%
HEALTH CARE	national health care	Yes, Patients Beyond Borders ranks Taiwan's healthcare system as Global No. 2	47 millions don't have medical insurance (100+ millions no dental)		the premium in Taiwan is about $30 a month, including state-of-the-art dental; U.S. co-payment alone for a single visit costs $35 in addition to 10-20 times higher premium without dental
DONATION TO UNIVERSITY	largest single donor to a single university on earth	$ 1/2 billions (Sep. '07) to National Taiwan Univ.	$ 300 millions (June '07; record lasted 3 mos.)		Taipei 101 tallest 2001-2009; structurally rated earthquake, typhoon, and 9-11 proof
GUEST WORKERS	legal guest workers	2% of population
GUEST WORKERS	legal guest workers covered by health care	100% est.
WATER QUALITY	dioxin regulation	Taiwan and U.S. are the only countries that have dioxin regulation			water quality is as fundamental as human right and freedom of speech; it's no coincidence that Taiwan ranks near the top in world
FOREIGN RESERVE	highest in history	$11,800 per capita $272 billions total	deficits	60% of Taiwan	Taiwan's foreign reserve per capita sets new world records, AGAIN !! 1.6 times of Japan; 2.2 times of S. Korea; 10 times of China; 48 times of India Feb. 2008
GENDER WEALTH EQUALITY	women percentage among top 1000 wealthiest	43% (highest in Asia, near the top in the world)	35% est.	22%	Unlike U.S. and Japan, women don't use spousal last name or Mrs. title in any professional or business environment (students would not know female teachers' marital status, let alone the last name of the spouse)
MADE IN CHINA BY TAIWANESE	total investment in China	$300 billions est. ($200 billions New York Times 2002)	$100 billions est.	$100 billions est.	most "made-in-china" products are from overseas Taiwanese companies, the largest exporters from China are Taiwanese companies
	factories in China	40,000	5,000 est.	5,000 est.
	company management based in China	1,000,000 est.	10,000 est.	10,000 est.
MADE IN VIETNAM BY TAIWANESE	investment in Vietnam to date	$20 billions to date and multiplying	$10 billions est.	$15 billions est.	Taipei-based Hon Hai alone to invest $5 billions starting '07; Formosa Plastic Group to invest $7.8 billions to build steel mills, with additional refinery complex in discussion; in comparison the largest U.S. investment is a $1 billion Intel facility
MADE IN VIETNAM BY TAIWANESE	management in Vietnam	300,000 est.	2,000 est.	10,000 est.	Taiwanese birth rate is at lowest in human history such that 1 out of every 4 first graders are born of foreign moms many from Vietnam and China
GLOBAL PRESENCE	“made-in-china by Taiwanese” global employees	30 millions, or 1.3 times Taiwanese population of 23 millions	est.10% of U.S. population	est.10% of Japanese population	non-Taiwanese employees working for Taiwanese companies in foreign countries
HIGHER HIGH TECH	PC design and manufacturing	70+% world total			HP buys $20 billions worth of PC products from Taiwanese companies in Taiwan a year; Dell's purchase at $15+ billions a year; Taiwan-based Acer is the No. 1 PC brand in Asia and Europe where xenophobia not a factor .... HP and Dell PC's are designed and made by Taiwanese firms, throughout Asia, with mostly Taiwanese technology and components
	laptop design and manufacturing	80+% world total; Quanta alone accounts for 1 out of 4 laptops
	LCD flat panel	60% world total; Taiwan 's '08 LCD output $43 billions; 2015 $80 billions			flat panel: 5 in. - 60 in. LCD monitor/TV minus low-tech components such as plastic frame, and basic electronics and electricals
	high tech industry & IT competitiveness	at 1-18th of U.S. population Taiwanese high tech industry is the only true peer to the U.S. ; Nation's science parks (triple Intel's revenue) at 17.2% annual growth (Intel 9.0%)		Taiwan Semi is worth 60% more than SONY by market capitalization	Taiwan Semiconductor is the second largest semiconductor company after INTEL with stock market capitalization, profit, revenue per employee 1.5 times that of INTEL (hence higher high tech, relative stock performance)
LUXURY GOODS	BMW, Mercedes, Cognac, Viagra	highest ownership-consumption per capita			Taiwanese Highway Patrol's fleet is made of BMW M5's; vehicle ownership times higher than Hong Kong, Singapore
THE MOST	CATEGORY	TAIWAN "the Richest Country" Siõng Hó-giäh	U.S. "the Other Richest Country"	JAPAN