Description

In the 1980s, a wave of liberalization and globalization prompted countries around the world to begin privatizing state-owned enterprises. Taiwan began doing so in 1989, and it was one of the most important projects undertaken by Premier Lee Huan.

In July that year, the Executive Yuan established a task force made up of scholars and experts to drive privatization policies and to help the regulators of these enterprises amend privatization laws. The task force also removed barriers that came up during the process and evaluated results of individual cases. By the end of 2014, a total 39 public enterprises had been taken private and another 17 closed.

In this photo taken December 2, 1989, Premier Lee votes near his home in the 11th election for county magistrates and city mayors.