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The study selected nine state-owned banks in Taiwan that went on privatization in 1998 and foreign banks with similar assets scales and more branches in Taiwan as sample. Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) is applied to explore the variation condition of efficient values for the periods between 1995 and 2007, prior and after each state-owned bank became privatized. To avoid data bias, the years affected by financial storm (from 2008 to 2010) were eliminated. Empirical results of the study are: The number of branches and assets return ratio are positively correlated to overall technical efficient value; savings and government holding ratio are negatively correlated to overall technical efficient value, showing that government releasing stock holdings through privatization can actually improve bank operating efficiency. The result of MannWhitney non-parametric examinations show that: Before the state-owned banks in Taiwan privatized, their average operating efficiency is significantly lower than that of foreign owned banks. After privatization, there is no significant difference in operating efficiency between state-owned and foreign-owned banks, revealing that privatization has effect of enhancing operating efficiency in public banks.

Eutrophication and algal blooms are worldwide environmental issues in lakes. The eutrophication process and formation mechanisms of algal blooms are particularly complicated in shallow lakes due to the strong lake???land, air???water and water???sediment interactions. This volume features papers presented at the International Symposium on the Eutrophication Process and Control in Large Shallow Lakes ??? with Special Reference to Lake Taihu, a Shallow Subtropical Chinese Lake, held in Nanjing, China, 22???26 April, 2005. The topics include: physical processes and their effects on shallow lake ecosystems; biogeochemistry of sediments and nutrient cycling in shallow lakes; algal blooms and ecosystem response in shallow lakes; eutrophication control and restoration in shallow lakes; and resource exploitation, environmental protection and sustainable management in shallow lakes. This volume will make a significant contribution to the understanding and management of eutrophication in shallow lakes.

Immediately after Xi Jinping assumed the position of party secretary general (PSG), he launched a large-scale top-down antiwaste campaign amongst the Chinese cadre corps. Compared with similar policies announced by Xi's predecessors, this campaign has distinct features that entail substantial political risk for the PSG. Why did Xi choose this politically risky strategy? Drawing on recent literature on authoritarian regimes, we argue that, amongst all possible objectives, an authoritarian leader such as Xi can use this type of policy campaign to demonstrate his power. In particular, the inherent importance of informal politics, the recent developments in Chinese politics, and Xi's personal background have increased his incentive and capacity to signal power by implementing such a campaign. A comparison with Xi's two predecessors, interviews, and statistical analyses support this argument. Our theoretical framework also sheds light on the literature on the power sharing of authoritarian political elites. ; postprint

This Commentary looks at the recent experience of China's healthcare system in dealing with the Covid-19 outbreak. Focusing on events in the city of Wuhan between Dec 2019 and April 2002 it shows how, initially, the response to the pandemic was impaired by a legacy of past reforms that had required public health organizations such as hospitals and community healthcare centers to operate as mini businesses. By increasing service fragmentation, this legacy left China's healthcare system badly prepared for the recent crisis. Specifically, it resulted in poor intelligence and patients bypassing primary care to access larger tertiary hospitals, with consequences for overcrowding and spiraling infection rates. However, China's experience also points to the role of the City administration in overcoming these obstacles, using the established hierarchy to adopt a system wide perspective and quickly re-organize services. This involved formalizing the role of GPs in the gatekeeping and triage of patients with Covid-19 symptoms and in the process, helping to fast-forward earlier reforms aimed at improving service integration. This policy highlights the advantages of public ownership and control over healthcare in the Chinese case with implications not just for policy makers, but also managers and clinical leaders locally who must enact these changes.