Telecommunications privatisation in Taiwan: A beautiful mistake?

This paper examines the changing role of the government and market in regulating the telecommunications sector since 1996 in Taiwan. It also explores changes in the institutional framework for regulatory governance as a result of the new privatisation policy for government-owned telecommunications enterprise. Lastly, the paper considers the lessons that can be learnt from the experiences of the Taiwanese telecommunications sector’s privatisation policy and regulatory governance. The paper argues that a close interplay of external geo-politics of globalisation and regional politics on the one hand, and internal economic and political dynamic on the other, shaped the form and pace of reforms. [DSA, Annual conference 2003: Globalisation and Development]