Referring to the four phases of the transformation of the zone, the third phase, the establishment of the SEZ in China, transformed the general understanding of the concept of an economic zone. The zone became a laboratory for economic and political change and explicitly political. The chapter on China SEZs by Apo Leong and Surendra Pratap captures the development of the zone in Chinafrom its earliest days to the latest political developments in 2011.
The paper discusses the development of the zone in Malaysiaas the country pursues its ambition to become the regional hub for the economic growth. In 2007, Malaysiagovernment put into action its plan for the establishment of the economic corridors in five designated regions in Malaysia.
In 1998, AMRC published “We in The Zone” describing the working condition within EPZs in 10 countries, those are Taiwan, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Vietnam and China. In general the book describes the situation experienced by most of women workers working in EPZs.