As others have pointed out, minimizing costs is a big factor when you are a business trying to make a profit.
Comrade Chang also pointed out an excellent point: Taiwan is a thriving industrialized, capitalist country. Why do you think they don't want China to take control? Don't confuse Taiwan with China, or Japan, or Korea, etc.
I want to avoid getting political here. But whether your reasons are patriotism, or not wanting to take advantage of "sweat shops", it is getting more difficult to buy a product which doesn't have some sort of global input since it is difficult for any one country to have the BEST workers, BEST raw materials, BEST manufacturing facilities, etc. You have to rely on other sources. It's just like the economic theory of DIVISION OF LABOR and SPECIALIZATION. You often get better products at realistic prices.
In addition, remember that MADE IN U.S.A. only means it was assembled in the U.S.A. The design, and raw materials may have come from somewhere else. Marketers/advertising often try to appeal to our sense of patriotism using this ("Proudly made in the U.S.A.), or to reinforce some preconceived notion (MADE IN JAPAN; therefore it must be high-tech).
[This message has been edited by Full Tang Clan (edited 10-26-2000).]