ABSTRACT
The products or services that public utility enterprises (PUEs) provide are inseparable from the consumer's everyday life and are closely connected to the interests of all households. Consumers are often the direct victims of PUEs' abuse of dominance. Public utility enterprises have come to symbolize Chinese monopolistic forces and, while the heated debate about the new Chinese Anti-Monopoly Law continues, competitors and consumers continue to be detrimentally affected by the market dominance of PUEs. Reform of government enterprises and stock ownership has created more independence for PUEs. The industries involving PUEs, i.e., water supply, power supply, gas supply, postal services, telecommunication, railway transportation, and aviation, are key elements for the State and public interests. One kind of charge that consumers in China are not satisfied with is the telephone installation fee that the telecommunication companies charged until 2001. To break the monopoly in the telecommunication industry, the central government established China Unicom in 1994.
