> Chinese culture today is
> experiencing something similar, what with the Hong Kong films, the
> Taiwanese export economy and the Chinese mainland traditions all
> converging into an amorphous, dizzying mediascape.
> -- Dennis
Rhetorical flourish doesn't begin to get at the integration taking place in the Guangdong and Fujian provinces of mainland China, Hong Kong and Taiwan over the past two decades. Hong Kong and Guandong are already strongly interrelated economies, with Guangdong Province providing manufacturing facilities and Hong Kong performing service functions including product development, financing, packaging, and marketing. The economies of Taiwan and Fujian Province have also become interdependent, although to lesser scale because of an unwilling Taiwanese government and the fact that Taiwanese residents could not legally visit the Mainland until 1988. Hong Kong's role is that of financial, transport, technology-transfer, and 'human resources' center for 'Greater China.' Meanwhile, Mainland-funded companies play an increasingly significant role in Hong Kong trade, finance, transport, and properties markets. As for Taiwan, it is estimated that over 30,000 firms are now investing and operating in China (in some sectors, entire process from supplying raw materials to final production has shifted to Mainland). China provides skilled and semi-skilled laborers who earn a fraction of Hong Kong and Taiwanese wages. Abundant natural resources have allowed Hong Kong and Taiwanese capital to maintain international competitiveness by shifting labor-intensive production to Mainland...Michael Hoover