Bringing It All Back Home

Weichen Tien knows what he's after--and goes for it. As president of the Development Center for Biotechnology, he has been angling to lure Taiwan's best and brightest back from America. Strutting down the corridor at this burgeoning research and development institute, Tien has a lot to show for his efforts. The center's eight directors all came back from the U.S. over the past five years. "I got this guy from Kodak," says Tien, pointing to one executive suite. "This guy came from Monsanto, this one from Upjohn, and that one from Abbott."

As never before, U.S.-trained engineers and researchers are being lured back home to help direct Taiwan's climb up the technology ladder. With its coffers spilling over, Taiwan is pumping increasingly hefty R&D funds into critical technologies of the future: $280 million for submicron chip production, $120 million for biotechnology and pharmaceutical research, and $120 million for high-definition TV. As U.S. blue chips cut back sharply on personnel and R&D, thousands of highly experienced Taiwanese employees are bolting for greener pastures back home (chart, page 134).