It was very important that you had a model that started to work in Japan, Korea, Taiwan and then spread to others in Southeast Asia and China.

WSJ: Emerging Economies Face Questions on Growth Path

The colourful and highly elaborate festival, which thrives here and is only beginning to be revived in China, attract tens of thousands of Mazu adherents from Taiwan and other parts of Southeast Asia.

BBC: Old world charm on Taiwan��s outlying islands

"A lot of manufacturing has moved to Southeast Asia and China, but we still want to maintain Taiwan as an innovation center, " says York Liao, chief secretary of Taiwan's Council for Economic Planning and Development.

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