Engineers and the Two Taiwans

The identity of Taiwan is a matter of intense local and international debate. This bookshows how engineers helped produce two distinct visions of the land of Taiwan and itspeople, elevating the value of engineering as a career path in the process. The book describeshow the technical work of engineers, which typically avoids partisan politics, can actuallycontribute to partisan differences and conflict. In most countries, the rise of engineeringis about the emergence of a single dominant vision of the country. In Taiwan, two distinctvisions of the land and its people emerged, owing to the presence of two distinct geographicalidentities-islanders and mainlanders. The distributed mode of production in the electronics industry proved to be transformativeand created an "abnormal boys' club" of engineers, as one group called themselves. Becausethe two communities were influenced by contrasting geographical identities, they felt asthough they were working for different Taiwans. "What a book. Engineers and the Two Taiwans traces how engineers creatively crafted professional identities and pathways in the cracks of multiple, shifting empires - and in so doinghelped create Taiwan as a thing-unto-itself. In showing how engineers shaped and were shapedby geopolitics and the birth of a new electronics industry, the book opens up fresh perspectiveson longstanding questions about who engineers are, how they are trained, where they ought towork, and ultimately what engineering is for. These engineers did politics through their materialcommitments even as they avoided partisan politics." Jessica M. Smith, Editor-in-chief, Engineering Studies, Professor, Engineering, Design,and Society Department, Colorado School of Mines "This book explores Taiwan's dynamic industrial evolution over the past century through thelens of different engineers' social dynamics, identity, values, and compelling narratives. It offersinsights into Taiwanese own perceptions in the electronics industry and prompts reflection onhow countries navigate domestic and international technology policies and social progress.You will come to appreciate how engineers in Taiwan today bear continuing responsibilities toconnect their technical work to its land and people, even when their own commitments differfrom one another." Minn-Tsong Lin, Deputy Minister, National Science and Technology Council, Taiwan,Distinguished Professor, Department of Physics, National Taiwan University