ELECTRONICS SHOPKEEPER AWAITS CUSTOMERS IN TAIPEI, 1999-02-08 (photo)

A shopkeeper awaits customers February 8 in Taipei's teeming Kwanghwa electronics market, known for its up-to-the-minute technologies and cut-throat pricing. Although Taiwan's exports of computers, microchips and other high-tech goods remain formidable, the island's economy has been unable to fend off the impact of Asia's financial crisis. Officials reported on Monday that 1998 economic growth slowed to just 4.83 percent, still enviable in recession-mired Asia but nearly two percentage points below the sizzling 6.77 percent rise of 1997. Growth in 1999 will slow further to 4.74 percent, they said. JKP/CC