TAIPEI: Taiwan’s economy shrank in the first quarter of 2016, figures showed on Friday, prolonging a recession that began last year, as exports fell by double digits. Sagging global demand for the island’s high tech goods, along with growing competition from China in its mainstay smartphone and computer hardware sectors was dragging on growth, officials said. GDP fell by 0.84 per cent in the three months through March, the government said, with exports sliding more than 12 per cent. Taiwan has now seen three consecutive quarters of shrinking GDP.