Globalizing Taipei

Book excerpt: Taipei's quest to become a global city is the key to its urban development. Globalizing Taipei looks at this "Asian Dragon", a major city in the South China Growth Triangle and a centre for transnational production, revealing how the development of this capital has received firm state support but is conditioned by international and domestic politics. The book is divided into four parts: economic and spatial restructuring, state and society realignment, social differentiation and cultural reorientation. Each analyzes the interaction of international, state and local politics in the shaping of the city's urban environment since World War II. All contributors to this edited volume are Taiwan scholars presenting critical insiders' views. Based on each author's specialization and research focus, each chapter provides an in-depth consideration of one of Taipei's developmental issues generated by globalization. Collectively they provide broad, insightful and coherent coverage of this crucial time in Taipei's global transmutation.