"An introduction to the Hsinchu Science Park

Hsinchu Science ParkIn 1951, Stanford University started the world’s first science park, which would later come to be known as Silicon Valley. Similar establishments have proliferated rapidly throughout the world ever since—there are now more than 100 science parks globally. In addition to being in different stages of development, these parks differ from one another in their modes of management and structure due to the diversity of social conventions, cultural backgrounds and economic prowess involved. Science parks in the U.S. are mainly a market-economy product, which is hardly a surprise given the country’s longstanding belief in laissez faire. In contrast, most science parks in East Asia tend to be dictated by government planning as authoritarianism is often the prevailing political doctrine in the region. Even in the same country, it is not uncommon for one science park to differ from the next one in terms of their management modes. Silicon Valley, for instance, is primarily what people will expect of a market economy, but the Research Triangle Park in North Carolina is readily recognizable as an entity subject to government intervention. Furthermore, what these establishments are called also differ from country to country; their names include science park, science-based industrial park, science and technology park, science city, etc."