Excerpt from Textbook

International Relations, 8th Edition by Goldstein

Was flipping through the chapters... found a good read:

"The most successful NICs are the "four tigers" or "four dragons" of East Asia: South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Singapore. Each succeeded in developing particular sectors and industries that were competitive on world markets..."

Note the description the author writes for each country:

"South Korea, with iron and coal resources, developed competitive steel and automobile industries that export globally... In this century, South Korean income has continued to rise impressively."

"Taiwan also has a strong industrial policy. It specializes in the electronics and computer industries, in which Taiwanese products are very successful worldwide... Taiwan holds one of the world's largest hard-currency reserves."

"Hong Kong - controlled by China since 1997 - also has world-competitive electrons and other light industries, but its greatest strengths are in banking and trade.... and Hong Kong is a financial center for much of Asia."

"Singapore is a trading city located at the tip of the Malaysian peninsula... Singapore has developed niches in light manufacturing and has (like Hong Kong) attracted MNCs to locate headquarters there."

I don't know if I'm bias, but it sure sounds like Sinkapore got the lousiest description, and a HK wannabe. It's like the author was trying his very best to write something good about us. And there's more...

"Both [South Korea & Taiwan] were militarized, authoritarian states intolerant of dissident then, although they later become democratic..."

"Hong Kong and Singapore have a different political profile... Although not as repressive or as militarized as South Korea and Taiwan during the Cold War era, Hong Kong and Singapore were not democracies either. Hong Kong was ruled by a British governor (and since 1997 by the government of Beijing), Singapore by a dominant individual."

No prizes for who that "dominant individual" is. LOL.