If S Korea can , why can't Taiwan?

As a matter of fact, in its early years of exile on Taiwan the KMT government worked to prevent the expansion of Taiwanese-owned firms. Take a look at the way the KMT government treated Tangjung and Tatung, Taiwan's two largest ironworks in the 1950s. In 1954, the KMT navy brought a lawsuit against Tatung charging it with "theft of naval property."

No Taiwanese expected Tatung to escape unscathed, and indeed it was nearly crippled by the inevitable guilty verdict. Tangjung fared even worse when it was eventually taken over in 1962 by the KMT government on the pretext it had heavy debts.

The KMT authorities clearly did not want to allow defense-related heavy industry to be in the hands of the Taiwanese.

From the early 1960s on, Taiwan's economic growth has depended greatly on thousands of small and medium-sized businesses and a much smaller number of large companies. Under less favorable conditions than companies in South Korea, Taiwanese businesses weren't able to grow to the size and worldwide fame of their South Korean counterparts.

What's worse, the KMT government seized Japanese assets not for the good of Taiwan and its people, but rather for its own benefit and survival. It is no wonder that the KMT is the richest political party in the world.

Shouldn't the DPP-led government now develop a policy to help some quality Taiwanese brands become world famous? After all, if and when there is a Taiwanese company ranked among the world's top brands, Taiwan's international visibility will be considerably enhanced.

In the final analysis, it is up to the people of Taiwan to strive to build on and improve the nation's brands to the highest level possible.

National pride is the key. South Koreans have demonstrated to the world that they are as good as the Japanese. If and when the Taiwanese are proud of being Taiwanese the way South Koreans are proud of being South Korean, then Taiwan's brands should soon be among the top-ranked in the world.

Chen Ching-chih is a researcher with the Los Angeles-based Institute for Taiwanese Studies.