"In the early 1980s, making ready-to-wear garments for export was pretty much a sure-fire money-spinner. Everything sold like hot cakes, just like electronics today," says Yao Hsing-chuan. But around 1987, under strong US pressure, the NT dollar appreciated, and exporters lost their competitive price advantage. Next, there was a series of rises in land and labor costs.
「在民國七十年代早期，做成衣外銷幾乎穩賺不賠，搶手情況就像是今天的電子業」，姚興川指出，沒想到民國七十六年左右，在美國的強大壓力下，台幣連連升值，外銷廠商失去了價格競爭的優勢；緊跟著土地及勞工成本又節節高漲。