This past Saturday, Modern Business Topics discussed 
globalization and free trade and some of the results of this, including the problem of safety in food products, pharmaceuticals, toothpaste, and toys manufactured without any oversight in China. Some impacts of the global economy, including lost jobs in manufacturing and other areas, have been plaguing Taiwan for the past 10 years as China has become the manufacturing 
capital of the world. But lost manufacturing jobs are not all, even white collar jobs are on the move as Chinese receive more training and are willing to work for much less than workers here. All this has led to fewer and fewer job openings and more and more candidates who have to be willing to work for less and sacrifice more benefits or risk being passed over. Is this a result of globalization and free trade? Does free trade benefit Taiwanese? As Taiwan is a member of the WTO, the 
benefits of representation do not necessarily benefit all. While consumers see the benefits in products and services offered at cut-rate prices, farmers and those in agriculture have to be willing to accept the market price for fruit and rice which has led to some protests. However, in our group, no one voiced negative views of Taiwan’s being part of the WTO. Furthermore, many voiced the opinion that globalization and free trade benefits them in many ways. The trend to move business out of Taiwan is continuing, but hopefully foreign investment in Taiwan will increase now that president Ma has taken the helm and works to stabilize cross-straight relations. Only time will tell, but with rising energy costs, everyone here expects that rises in prices across the board will continue, while salaries will not keep pace.
globalization and free trade and some of the results of this, including the problem of safety in food products, pharmaceuticals, toothpaste, and toys manufactured without any oversight in China. Some impacts of the global economy, including lost jobs in manufacturing and other areas, have been plaguing Taiwan for the past 10 years as China has become the manufacturing 
capital of the world. But lost manufacturing jobs are not all, even white collar jobs are on the move as Chinese receive more training and are willing to work for much less than workers here. All this has led to fewer and fewer job openings and more and more candidates who have to be willing to work for less and sacrifice more benefits or risk being passed over. Is this a result of globalization and free trade? Does free trade benefit Taiwanese? As Taiwan is a member of the WTO, the 
benefits of representation do not necessarily benefit all. While consumers see the benefits in products and services offered at cut-rate prices, farmers and those in agriculture have to be willing to accept the market price for fruit and rice which has led to some protests. However, in our group, no one voiced negative views of Taiwan’s being part of the WTO. Furthermore, many voiced the opinion that globalization and free trade benefits them in many ways. The trend to move business out of Taiwan is continuing, but hopefully foreign investment in Taiwan will increase now that president Ma has taken the helm and works to stabilize cross-straight relations. Only time will tell, but with rising energy costs, everyone here expects that rises in prices across the board will continue, while salaries will not keep pace.
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