Policy Legitimization and Policy Networks:Taiwan's Free Port Policy as an Example

[[abstract]]目前政府正積極推動「自由貿易港區」的政策，以創造物流轉運及高附加價值加工的利基，充分提升臺灣的國際競爭力，實現全球運籌中心的政策目標。本文擬從我國港埠發展現況與亞太地區主要港埠建設談起，論述政府在臺灣地區設置自由貿易港區的必要性，並從港口經濟學的理論出發，就我國主要的國際商港與工業專用港之條件，對劃設編定自由貿易港區進行分析，最後並提出具體的政策建議，希望政府應本著總量管制的基本原則，對自由貿易港區妥善規劃設置，以免造成國家有限港埠資源之不當浪費。 過去學術界對於我國港埠政策之研究多半從制度面切入，本文嘗試以政策合法化與政策網絡的研究途徑，將目前仍在立法院審議中的自由貿易港區政策視為行政與立法部門、中央與地方政府、以及地方政府之間所形成的垂直與水平政策網絡之中，多元理性自利的政治行動者之間策略互動所產生的結果。本文所要探討的三個主要研究面向如下： （1）自由貿易港區是否為當前我國所需要？如果需要，則政府劃設編定港區的決策準則為何？臺灣地區所劃設編定的自由貿易港區，應屬於何種形式的港區？港區的管理體制應該如何設計？ （2）在政策合法化的過程中，中央部會之間、中央與地方、行政與立法、學術界及產業界等多元的政策參與者之間的策略互動，如何影響上述政策議題的決定，最後造成何種影響？ （3）港埠競爭力構成要素應如何建構？自由貿易港區之政策延續過去亞太海運中心、境外航運中心及經貿特區等不同階段的政策目標，未來是否能夠有效提昇我國的港埠競爭力？ The more advanced the transportation infrastructure in a country, the more the business community understands and can make effective use of ports and their facilities in order to maintain operating profits. If a country can go further and link up the sites touted as "free ports," the besides the expected profits there will also be much greater convenience and comparative advantage. Although the "Statute Governing the Establishment and Management of Free Ports" is still under discussion in the Legislative Yuan, the private sector is eagerly awaiting its passage. Through local governments, members of industry have relayed to the central government their high hopes about the free ports' impact on economic efficiency. Under the Statute, a wide variety of business operations can qualify to operate in free ports. The concept of policy networks is appropriate in the sense that it is not identical to the old institutional perspective where attention focused on formal power. Policy network approach is a mixture of top-down and bottom-up approaches and offers another alternate research method beyond market and hierarchy. Moreover, the process of policy legitimization is an essential part of Taiwan's free port policy and thus constitutes another focal point of this article. Three main research questions are as follows. 1. Does Taiwan need free port(s)? If yes, what kind of mechanism should free ports be empowered? 2. How do key players influence policymaking of Taiwan's free point policy during the process of policy legitimization? 3. Is the free port policy initiative capable of enhancing Taiwan's port competitiveness