Island-type economy Says Chiang: "I was instructed that the projects we attracted didn't have to be too large--around US $ 50,000 in value was enough, so long as they employed at least 50 people." In the early 1960s Taiwan's economy was about to undergo transition, with unemployment at over 4 %, and labor-intensive export processing industries provided alternatives for the enormous rural workforce.
「那時長官告訴我，招商的條件不必太高，一個投資案只要五萬美金就可以了，但一定要雇滿五十個人」，江丙坤回憶，民國五十年代初期，台灣經濟正待轉型，失業率超過百分之四，龐大的農村勞動力亟需另尋出路，加工出口型的勞力密集型產業正符所需。