 Taiwan began its industrialization after Hong Kong and before South Korea as a result of rising wage rates in Japan, and subsequently Hong Kong, and quota restrictions imposed by the U.S. and subsequently Europe on textile exports.In parallel with this economic evolution, Taiwan has also laid down a political transformation that has led the country to more than 30 years of democracy.Taiwan's economic success - by investing in a highly educated workforce, a strong emphasis on scientific and technological advancement, championing private enterprise and honing flexibility of entrepreneurship through private family businesses catapulted the resource poor island to a dynamic and modern high technology powerhouse by the 1980s through the making of many of the world's laptops and everyday consumer electronics.