Mr Sun began to feel Taiwan's economic slump first hand in November when he, along with most others at his works, were asked to take unpaid holidays as the factory was short of orders. As a result, Mr Sun says, his pay was cut by two-thirds.

Mr Sun's experience has become common in Taiwan – a recent survey found nearly 2 per cent of the country's workforce are on unpaid leave, while a further 5 per cent are jobless. It is also emblematic of the wider problems that led Taiwan's economy to shrink by more than 8 per cent last quarter, making it the worst-performing major economy in Asia.

Taiwan's troubles began in October when the effects of the global financial crisis caused exports to fall sharply. That sparked a chain reaction as companies that were still building new factories as recently as a year ago shelved expansion plans and cut production, reducing pay or laying off workers.