Economics Minister-designate Lin Hsin-yi (
"It is time to revise the policy of deregulation," said Lin, who was speaking at a parliamentary hearing organized by New Party (新黨) lawmakers Lai Shi-bao (賴士葆) and Hao Long-bin (郝龍斌). Also invited were union representatives from state-run firms such as Chinese Petroleum Corporation (中油), Taiwan Power (TaiPower, 台電) and China Steel Corporation (中鋼).
"Privatization is only a means to an end. The goal of privatizing state-run firms is to commercialize them and improve their competitiveness," Lin said.
Lin said that some state-owned companies which have commercialized well need not be privatized at all. "There is no need to privatize firms just for the sake of privatization," Lin said.
"Look at the performance of China Steel. With it doing so well, is there any need to deregulate it further?" he said.
Although China Steel was privatized in 1995, the government still holds a more than 40 percent stake in the firm. Late last year, company executives predicted that profits would rise by 19 percent in 2000.
Emphasizing the profitability of state-run firms, Lin said that assets of the twelve state-run companies total between NT$200 billion and NT$380 billion, while annual income for this year is expected to hit NT$700 billion, he said.
However, among these companies are utilities like TaiPower and the Chinese Petroleum Corporation, so these earnings are "expected," Lin said.
But, deregulation received a lashing from one union representative who said that privatization did not spell profit.
"Privatized China Steel may have done well, but the Chinese Petroleum Development Corporation has racked up losses since being privatized," said Lu Tian-lin a representative of the union for state-owned Aerospace Industrial Development Corporation (
"But state-run companies turning profits include Chinese Petroleum Corporation, Chunghwa Telecom (中華電信) and Taipower," Lu said.
Lu also took issue over the government's method of deregulation, saying that instead of just selling stock and paring assets through open tender, firms could be deregulated by first commercializing them, then privatizating them.
He also advised that as different firms had different problems with deregulation, regulations should be "loosened and every firm dealt with on a case-by-case basis."
Lu found support in Sheng Wen-ching (
Lin, keen to heal the rift over deregulation between the government and employees of state-run firms, promised that he would be "sincere in communicating" with the unions and "honest in handling the issue of worker's rights."
He also said that he would be willing to "sit down with union chiefs and discuss the concerns of the workers, whose interests must be guaranteed."
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