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A standard is a set of regulations, guidelines, or criteria for general and repetitive applications for subjects like products, processes and services. It is provided by a certain institution and, through consensus, is approved by accredited authorities (organizations). The evolution of our national standards is described as follows: Our national standards are established by the Bureau of Standards, Metrology & Inspections (BSMI), and are approved by the Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA). Their evolution has a very close connection with the development of Taiwan's economy. In the late 1940s, agriculture export was the major part of our economy, so most of the standards established then were related to products like cotton, pig's bristles, tea, peanut oil, citronella, cane sugar, etc. In the 1950s, in order to reduce our dependence on imported goods, we developed labor-intensive light industries, such as refined salt, soy bean sauce, matches, toothpaste, soap, toilet paper, daily commodities, building bricks and steel bars; hence the associated standards were framed during that period. The 1960s were the export expansion period of our light industries; we developed standards of products such as motor cultivators, emulsion paints, textiles (including its inspection methods), capacitors, Chinese typewriters and air conditioners. When it came to the 1970s, indigenously produced intermediate goods and capital goods became the focus of our economic policy, and our major tasks were to establish the standards of industrial raw materials, and products of precision industry. During the entire 1990s, we were devoted to the standards of information processing, electronic data exchange, production automation, engineering drawing, plastic goods, paints and children's commodities due to the advent of the information-based society and the government's policy to promote liberalization and internationalization. From 2001 to 2010, we developed the standards for electromagnetic compatibility, handheld electric-powered tools, household appliances, environmental management, green building materials and personal protective apparatus for severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS). During the last decade, under the direction of the government's informatization policy and its promotion of energy saving and carbon reduction. We have aggressively established the standards related to energy saving, new energy, information and communication; it includes LED semiconductor illumination, solar optoelectronic technology, wind power, electric vehicles, fuel cell techniques, biomass fuel, energy management, information techniques and radio frequency identification (RFID). In addition, the standards of functional textiles, accessible environment design, assistive devices, furniture and daily necessities have also been formulated in order to provide guidelines for regulating the goods to meet consumer demand.
