LOS ANGELES — Of all the countries of Asia, Taiwan deserves to be near the top of the list in terms of having earned the world's respect. Therein we find the tale.
Yes, its economy is continually muscular, its people are hardworking, its youngsters are on the whole fiercely ambitious to improve themselves (many wonderful Taiwanese students take my UCLA classes), its democracy is the real deal and its news media is actually often rated as freer than that of the United States.
In short, it is a tremendous society and a fabulous success story — with a very special populace.