Evolution is inevitable. It's what made us the humans we are today. If we didn't keep adapting, someone would take our place tomorrow.

A Deutsche Presse-Agentur business feature perfectly describes this. It notes that Taiwan's position as the Bicycle Kingdom was usurped in the 1990s by China, India and Vietnam, to the extent that half of the 1 billion to 1.5 billion bikes produced in the world every year are now made in China.

The average price of a bike made in China is US$32 (Bt1,250), whereas the price of Taiwan's product had risen by last year to $200 from $114 in 1991.

The fierce competition has forced Taiwan to shift its focus to high-value-added bikes that fetch a better price, and its new emphasis on innovation and design has paid off.

Taiwan companies are targeting the US and Europe with e-bikes that trim the belly, straighten the back and firm the bottom, powered by a lithium battery that can be recharged 1,000 times.

Foreign buyers at last week's Taipei International Cycle Show say they didn't care whether Taiwan was still the Bicycle Kingdom or not so long as they could find good bikes and parts and close deals at good prices.

Titles, to be sure, can be tricky things, persuading us so convincingly of our place at the top that we stop improving or are slow to adjust to a changing environment.

Sometimes governments are slow in reacting to world movements. Thais might well reflect on their country's increasingly compromised position as the world's biggest rice producer. There are challengers out there, and yet Thai farmers receive guaranteed prices, leading to an alarming drop in competitiveness.

Is evolution having its way with us?

achara_d@nationgroup.com