District Autonomy under Special Municipality: A Lesson from Greater London Authority
Pao-Chien Wang*
Abstract
The essay discusses the role of special municipality and district government by employing the theory of decentralization. The essay borrows the working experience from the UK’s devolved government and Greater London Authority to suggest a way of reforming Taiwan’s district government. The essay adopts the case study method. The main findings of the essay are as follows. First, the district government’s job is providing public service and local autonomy should be implemented for “local decision-making”. Second, the district’s autonomy can meet the purpose of local governance. Third, the government should adopt the “optional charters” for district autonomy and the districts can decide what they want.
Keywords: devolved government, Greater London Authority (GLA), special municipality, district government
* Adjunct Assistant Professor, Department of Hakka Language and Social Sciences, National Central University, email: d93341008@ntu.edu.tw.