>Justin wrote: > Taiwan and Hong would've
> > resembled China (fairly big minuses),
>
>There never was a communsit movement in Taiwan.
Actually there was, but it was very small and was forced underground by the Japanese colonial administration in the early 30s. While there were links between the CPs of Taiwan and China, the TCP was organized into the 3rd Int. under the Japanese CP, not the the CCP, and debates in Taiwan followed those of Japan. But the Japanese state was just too strong, they never had a chance. Who knows what a communist revolution would have looked like in Taiwan? Hard to say that it would be just like China. The histories, economies, cultures, and modes of integration into the world economy were very different.
The legacy of the TCP can still be felt in Taiwan, in its Labor Party and the intellectual grouping China Tide. And the brilliant author Chen Ying-chen was 'educated' by spending a couple of decades with many of the older commie organizers on Taiwan's island gulag.
>Luke wrote: I'm not familiar with the social well-being indicators pre and
>post Mao.
>Even if they were a lot better post Mao, why should we think they wouldn't
>have risen similarly under Chiang Kai Shek?
(yes to all the reasons that Jim just posted, and...) Because Chiang's track record on the mainland up to that point was horrible. No Cold War, no US aid, no open door to exports, and no stunning Taiwan miracle.
Cheers,
Jonathan