The rapid appreciation of the NT dollar necessitated a shift from the labor-intensive production on which the island had depended. Japanese and Western manufacturers left, and even Taiwanese companies began to pull up their stakes and move their factories to Southeast Asia and mainland China.
由於台幣大幅升值，使台灣向來憑藉的勞力密集產業型態驟生巨變，外商走了、日商走了，連台商都一波接一波去了東南亞和大陸設廠。