Taiwan's bumpy boad to globalisation: Known for being the world's largest manufacturer in semiconductors, Taiwan's economy has flourished. And amid the coronavirus outbreak, the state has experienced an exponential rise in product demand. But will the island be able to maintain its connections to the west while reducing dependence on mainland China when the global pandemic passes?

TAIWAN HAS BEEN one of the main economic beneficiaries of the last 40 years of globalisation. In 1980, the value of its technology sector was $100m (£80m). By 1989, it had reached $5bn; by 1999 it was $21bn. Today, one company alone, the semiconductor foundry TSMC, has annual sales of $35bn in a silicon sector worth around $85bn (£68bn).