The difference is that TW, KR and SG were/are right wing authocracies and the first two evolved more or less peacefully into functional democracies. Japan too.

The difference is that TW, KR and SG were/are right wing authocracies and the first two evolved more or less peacefully into functional democracies. Japan too. All of these countries except maybe SG had/have the US as their allies and I'm quite sure it was the US that slowly pushed them in this direction. Japan is the prime example of this as it was occupied by the US. Just look at pre 1945 Japan - it was an aggressive militarist authocracy that occupied neighbouring states, with an ambition to conquer the world¹. 1. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hakkō_ichiu https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hakkō_ichiu