I never trust the statement that Taiwan GDP was about 45% of all Mainland China in 1980s if you simply think and understand how economy works in a nation. However, I believe that today's Taiwan GDP per capita, ~about $25000, is real, but wonder why Taiwanese appear to have no better living standard or life when compared to the people in the Mainaland that has much lower GDP per capita ~$10000, officially announced by the Mainland government. This needs discussed and more studied.
The problem is not that the Taiwan number is not true, although many Taiwanese have not felt it. The problem is indeed that the Mainland figure has been much undercounted for years, which has unfortunately been used for overlooking the China economy and people in the country and for portraying China as a poor, developping nation. Such a picture has been believed by many including Taiwanese. However, based on the actual economic scale, the Mainland GDP per capita in 2018 was at least $28990, much higher than the officially announced number. If this is correct, then the Mainland China 2018 GDP was ~$40 trillion US!
Think about it.
