Rewarding week for the good guys

Sure, Hsieh Sheng-fu (謝生富) was a known member of the Soong Sympathizers Club. Of course he was a political appointee who gained his position from years of back-scratching in the Legislative Yuan. But in the end, his biggest weakness was not that he had the wrong connections but that he behaved outrageously as the chairman of a supposedly privatized state-run company. He gave NT$4 billion to four shell companies that he had set up to ramp the company's stock price.

Yes, lots of other companies do this. But Taiwan Fertilizer was not just any company. It was supposed to set an example for the rest of the state-owned companies that plan to privatize within the next few months and years. Hsieh met his fate because he asked for it by thumbing his nose at the people in government who are serious about privatizing Taiwan's massive state-owned sector.

Admittedly, it's hard to follow the same line of thought for the banking and insurance markets, for they are more resistant to political interference these days. But that doesn't mean they are any more protected from the winds of change. International forces of liberalization have long been chipping away at these two markets, with pressure steadily building on the government to keep pace with the world or see Taiwan's financial institutions wither in competitiveness.

Indeed, it didn't need too much political courage for the Ministry of Finance to approve mobile banking services in Taiwan. Singapore and Hong Kong are already a step ahead. And likewise, reports that Taiwan's top insurers have been rapidly losing market share to foreigners and more progressive local firms should come as no surprise. Cathay Life and Shinkong could hardly expect less, considering how well-protected from foreign competition they have been over the past decade or so.

Still, it does all add up. These are the gains to be reaped from building an economy on market-oriented principles. And each one of these developments augurs well for Taiwan's future.

Now if only I could get decent Internet access at home. Maybe I'll ask my neighborhood chief to do something about it. Then again, maybe I'll just wait for the effects of the Telecoms Law to kick in.