Government. ROC (Taiwan) Yearbook 2011 Ch04 government

The ROC’s centennial is celebrated at the New Year Day flag-raising ceremony on January 1, 2011.

04五校2(spelling and indexed).indd 54 2011/10/18 12:11:20 AM

55

At a Glance

4 Government

The central government of the Republic of China is responsi-

ble for ensuring the overall well-being of the nation, includ-

ing its prosperity and security as well as educational

opportunity for all citizens.

Recent major changes in government include measures to streamline

the central government’s executive branch, whereby the number of

ministries and agencies will be reduced from 37 to 29. The revamped

structure will include six new ministries—Ministry of Labor, Ministry

of Agriculture, Ministry of Health and Welfare, Ministry of Environ-

ment and Natural Resources, Ministry of Culture and Ministry of Sci-

ence and Technology.

At the local level, three new special municipalities—New Taipei City,

Taichung City and Tainan City were formed in December 2010 with the

aim of more effectively and equitably utilizing public resources.

• Governmentrestructuring

• Fivespecialmunicipalities

• Clean,efficientgovernment


56

4Government

The ROC ConstitutionTheRepublicofChinaisamultiparty

democracyfoundedontheROCConstitu-tion.TheConstitutionwasadoptedbytheNationalAssembly國民大會inNanjingonDecember25,1946;waspromulgatedonJanuary 1, 1947; and took effect on De-cember25ofthatsameyear.Itcomprises175 articles in 14 chapters, plus 12Ad-ditionalArticlesaddedinsevenroundsofrevisionbetween1991and2005.

The document begins by declaring:“TheRepublic ofChina, foundedon theThree Principles of the People 三民主義,shall be a democratic republic of thepeople,tobegovernedbythepeopleandfor the people.” Formulated by SunYat-sen(see introductory“Biographies”), the

ThreePrinciplesofthePeopleareaphil-osophicalblueprintforbuildingtheROCintoamodern,forward-lookingnation.

ThePrincipleofNationalism民族主義asserts the ROC’s sovereign status andinsists on its equal rights in the interna-tional community, as well as equalityamong all ethnic groups within the na-tion.ThePrincipleofDemocracy民主主義,which assures each citizen the right toexercisepoliticalandcivilliberties,isthefoundation of the government’s organ-ization and functions. The Principle ofSocialWell-being民生主義 states that thepowers granted to the government mustbe used to serve the people by develop-ingaprosperous,justsociety.ThesethreePrincipleshaveshapedgovernmentpolicyandlegislationinareasrangingfromedu-cationandlandreformtosocialwelfare.

The full text of the Constitution anditsAdditionalArticles can be viewed inAppendixIIIofthisbook.

Constitutional Rights and Freedoms

The rights and freedoms guaranteedto citizens by the Constitution includeequalitybeforethelaw;therighttoworkandownproperty;andthepowersofelec-tionandofrecallandinitiativebymeansofreferendum.InlinewithArticle136ofthe Constitution, the system for exercis-ingtherightofdirectdemocracyisstipu-latedintheReferendumAct公民投票法.

Peoplearealsoensured the freedomsof speech, choice of residence, move-ment,assembly,confidentialcommunica-tion, religion and association. Obtainingan education is considered both a rightand a duty of citizens. Rights and free-domsnotspecifiedintheConstitutionareprotected byArticle22,whichstates,“Allother freedoms and rights of the peoplethatarenotdetrimentaltosocialorderorpublicwelfare shallbeguaranteedundertheConstitution.”

The ROC Constitution was adopted in 1946 and saw seven rounds of revision between 1991 and 2005. It serves as the foundation for the ROC to safeguard people’s rights and freedoms.


57

Restrictions on constitutional free-doms are valid only if contained in leg-islation deemed necessary to preventinfringement on the freedoms of oth-ers, respond to emergencies, maintainsocial order or enhance public well-being. Law enforcement-related affairs—investigations, detention, indictments,trials and punishment—must be carriedout in strict accordance with due legalprocess.Intheeventindividuals’rightsareviolated by government authorities, theyareentitledtocompensationbythestate.

Fundamental National Policies The Constitution specifies areas of

concernthatrequiresupplementarylegisla-tionaswellasissuesofimportancetothenation. Chapter XIII of the Constitution,titled “Fundamental National Policies,”contains guidelines on national defense,foreign policy, the economy, social wel-fare,educationandculture.Principlesgov-erninganumberof otherissues—includingscientific development, environmentalprotection, national health insurance andgenderequality—areenunciatedintheAd-ditionalArticlesoftheConstitution.

Political Reforms To deal with the threat posed by the

Chinese Communist Party during theChinese Civil War, the NationalAssem-bly adopted the Temporary ProvisionsEffective During the Period of NationalMobilizationforSuppressionoftheCom-munist Rebellion 動員戡亂時期臨時條款 in1948.Thereby, presidential powers weregreatly expanded while protection ofbasic freedomsandrightswereseriouslyerodedforthedurationoftheemergencyperiod.TheTemporaryProvisionsalsoal-lowedforthepresidentandvicepresidentof the ROC to be re-elected indefinitelydespitethetwo-termrestrictionstipulatedbytheConstitution.

Following the end of martial law in1987, the National Assembly abolishedthe Temporary Provisions in 1991, withtheaimofmoreeffectivelyimplementingconstitutionaldemocracyaswellasfoster-inghealthydevelopmentofrelationswithmainlandChina.Inthatsameyear,Presi-dentLeeTeng-hui李登輝decreedtheendofthePeriodofNationalMobilizationforSuppressionoftheCommunistRebellion.(SeeChapter6,“Cross-straitRelations.”)

Thepast twodecadeshavewitnessedanumberofmajorreformsintheROC’spolitical system accomplished throughamendments to the Constitution in theform ofAdditionalArticles proposed bythe LegislativeYuan (Legislature)立法院and ratified by the National Assembly.Six rounds of constitutional revision in1991, 1992, 1994, 1997, 1999 and 2000initiated direct popular elections for theofficesofROCpresident andvicepresi-dent; instituted regular elections for allseats in the Legislative Yuan; grantedthe Legislative Yuan power to initiate ano-confidence vote against the premier(presidentof theExecutiveYuan行政院);gave the president of the ROC authoritytodissolvetheLegislativeYuan;reformedtheControlYuan監察院;andreducedthescope of authority and operations of theTaiwanProvincialGovernment臺灣省政府.

In 2004, the LegislativeYuan passedan additional package of proposals forconstitutional amendments on issuesregarding parliamentary organization,changesinthesystemforelectinglegisla-tors, transferofpowertoratifyproposedconstitutional amendments from the Na-tionalAssembly to thegeneralelectoratethroughreferendum,andabolitionof theNationalAssembly.The reason for abol-ishing theNationalAssemblywas that itwouldnolongerperformitsoriginalcon-stitutional functions of initiating propos-als to amend the Constitution, ratifyingsuch proposals and electing the nation’spresidentandvicepresident.In2005,the


58

4Government

packagewasratifiedbyanadhocNation-alAssemblyelected for the specificpur-poseofdebatingandvotingonwhethertoadopttheproposedamendments.

Since2005,theCentralElectionCom-mission (CEC)中央選舉委員會 has mergedvarioustypesofelectionsinordertoreducefinancial and social costs andmeetpublicexpectations.ByamendmentstotheLocalGovernment Act 地方制度法 in February2010, the terms of office of incumbentheads of local governments and membersof representative councils will terminateat the same time in late December 2013.Thereafter, seven types of local govern-mentelectionswillbeheldsimultaneously.Meanwhile, on April 19, 2011, the CECannounced the commissioners’ consensualdecision tomerge thenational-levelpresi-dentialandlegislativeelectionsof2012.

Central Government The central government consists of

the Office of the President and fivebranches,oryuans—theExecutiveYuan,theLegislativeYuan,theJudicialYuan司法院,theExaminationYuan考試院andtheControlYuan.

PresidencyThepresidentoftheROCisthehead

of state and commander-in-chief of theArmed Forces (see Chapter 7, “NationalDefense”).Asheadofstate,thepresidentrepresents the nation in foreign relationsandatstatefunctions,andmayconcludeinternationalagreements.ThepresidentisfurtherempoweredbytheConstitutiontoappointandremovetopcivilandmilitaryofficials; promulgate laws; dissolve theLegislativeYuanintheeventitdismissesthe premier through a vote of no con-fidence; help resolve disputes betweenbranches of the central government; andissue emergency decrees in response tonationalsecuritythreatsorothercrises.

With respect to the last point, emer-gencydecreesmustberatifiedbytheLeg-islativeYuan within 10 days of issuance.Should the Legislative Yuan withholdratification, emergency decrees are im-mediatelyannulled.Intheeventdisagree-ments arise between the Executive YuanandtheLegislativeYuan,forexample,thepresidentof theROCmaycallameetingofthepresidentsofthetwobranches—thepremier and the legislative speaker—toworkoutasolution.

Under the direct administrative juris-diction of the Office of the President areAcademia Sinica 中央研究院, AcademiaHistorica 國史館 and the National Se-curity Council 國家安全會議. AcademiaSinica scholars are widely reputed as be-ingamong thenation’s top researchers inmanydisciplines inboth thephysicalandsocial sciences. Academia Historica isthecustodianof thenationalarchivesandother important historical items. And theNationalSecurityCouncilischargedwithassistingthepresidentinaddressingissuesthat concern the nation’s critical interests(seeChapter7,“NationalDefense”).

The president and the vice presidentare elected as a ticket and win office byreceivingapluralityof thepopularvote.Their term of office is four years, andtheymaybere-electedtoserveonecon-secutiveterm.

The ROC is sometimes describedas having a semi-presidential systembecause the president does not exercisedirect administrative authority over theexecutivebranch.Nevertheless,thepresi-dent exerts considerable influence overtheoperationsofthevariousbranchesofthecentralgovernmentthroughhispowerto appoint the premier and other top of-ficials.Asthepresident’sappointmentofthepremierdoesnotrequireconfirmationby the Legislative Yuan, the premier’spolicy-making normally adheres closelytoguidelineslaidoutbythepresident.


59

Ministry of the Interior National Development Council

Mainland Affairs Council

Financial Supervisory Commission

Ocean Affairs Council

Overseas Chinese Affairs Council

Veterans Affairs Council

Council of Indigenous Peoples

Hakka Affairs Council

Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics

Directorate-General of Personnel Administration

Central Bank of the Republic of China (Taiwan)

National Palace Museum

Central Election Commission

Fair Trade Commission

National Communications Commission

Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Ministry of National Defense

Ministry of Finance

Ministry of Education

Ministry of Justice

Ministry of Economic and Energy Affairs

Ministry of Transportation and Construction

Ministry of Labor

Ministry of Agriculture

Ministry of Health and Welfare

Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources

Ministry of Culture

Ministry of Science and Technology

Standing & Ad Hoc Committees

Supreme Administrative Court & High Administrative Courts

Intellectual Property Court

Supreme Court, High Courts & District Courts

Ministry of Civil Service

Standing & Special Committees

Ministry of Audit

Ministry of ExaminationCivil Service Protection and Training Commission

Public Service Pension Fund Supervisory Board

Judicial Personnel Study Center

Commission on the Disciplinary Sanctions of Functionaries

Structure of the Central Government After Executive Yuan Reorganization(Implementation period: Jan. 1, 2012 ~ Dec. 31, 2014)

Academia Historica

Academia Sinica

National Security Council


60

4Government

Executive YuanThe Executive Yuan is the executive

branch of the ROC government, headedby the premier. The premier is directlyappointed by the president, while othermembers of the ExecutiveYuan Council,or Cabinet—comprising the vice premier,ministers,chairpersonsofcommissionsandministerswithoutportfolio—areappointedby the president on recommendation ofthepremier.InadditiontosupervisingthesubordinateorgansoftheExecutiveYuan,the premier explains administrative poli-cies and reports to the Legislative Yuanandresponds,eitherorallyorinwriting,tothe interpellations of legislators. For lawsto takeeffectafterenactmentby theLeg-islative Yuan, they must be promulgatedbythepresidentandcountersignedbythepremier. In theeventofvacancies inboththepresidencyandthevicepresidency,thepremier performs the duties of the presi-dentforuptothreemonths.

Currently, there are eight ministriesand 29 other Cabinet-level organizationsunder theExecutiveYuan.To streamlinethe central government and improve itseffectiveness,whileat thesametimeen-hancingflexibilitywithinitsdepartments,theCabinetproposedseveralgovernment-restructuringbillstotheLegislativeYuan,which were enacted and promulgated inearly2010.AmongthemareamendmentstotheBasicCodeGoverningCentralAd-ministrativeAgencies Organizations中央

行政機關組織基準法and theOrganizationalActoftheExecutiveYuan行政院組織法.Inaddition,theCentralGovernmentAgencyPersonnel Quota Act 中央行政機關總員額

法andtheProvisionalActforAdjustmentofFunctionsandOrganizationsoftheEx-ecutiveYuan行政院功能業務與組織調整暫行

條例havecomeintoforce.As a result, the number of Cabinet-

levelorganizationswillbereducedfrom37to 29. After restructuring, over the periodJanuary1,2012toDecember31,2014,theExecutiveYuanwillconsistof14ministries,

eightcouncils,threeindependentagenciesand four additional organizations. Sixnew ministries will be created throughthe reorganization or consolidation ofexisting agencies, including Ministry ofLabor, Ministry of Agriculture, MinistryofHealthandWelfare,MinistryofEnvi-ronment and NaturalResources,Ministryof Culture and Ministry of Science andTechnology. Meanwhile, several agencieswillceasetoexistaftertheirfunctionsaretransferredtoothercommissionsorminis-tries.TheseincludetheMongolianandTi-betanAffairs Commission蒙藏委員會, theNationalYouthCommission行政院青年輔導

委員會, theAtomicEnergyCouncil行政院

原子能委員會,thePublicConstructionCom-mission 行政院公共工程委員會, the Councilfor Economic Planning and Development行政院經濟建設委員會, the Sports AffairsCouncil行政院體育委員會 and the Govern-mentInformationOffice行政院新聞局.

Further, theLegislativeYuanenacteda law in April 2011 enabling certainstate-run organizations to be operated asindependent administrative juridical per-sonstofacilitateflexiblerecruitmentandprocurement processes. These includethe Chung-Shan Institute of Science andTechnology中山科學研究院undertheMin-istry of National Defense, the NationalSportsTrainingCenter國家運動選手訓練中

心 under the Ministry of Education, andthe National Science and TechnologyCenter for Disaster Reduction國家災害防

救科技中心 currently under the ExecutiveYuan’sNationalDisastersPreventionandProtectionCommission行政院災害防救委員

會andtheNationalScienceCouncil行政

院國家科學委員會.

Legislative YuanThe Legislative Yuan is the central

government’s sole law-making body. Itcomprises113legislators,oneperelectoraldistrict,whoservefour-yeartermsandareeligibletostandforre-electionindefinitely.


61

Legislators elect from their ranks thelegislative speaker, or president of theLegislativeYuan.The speaker is respon-sible for coordinating operations of theLegislativeYuan. This includes facilitat-ing communication and compromisebetweenlegislatorsregardingcontentiousaspectsoflegislation.

The LegislativeYuan’s functions andpowersincludegenerallegislativepower;hearing reports by government officialsandquestioningthemongovernmentpol-iciesandtheirimplementation;reviewingbudgetary bills and audit reports; con-firming presidential nominations to topgovernmentposts, includingmembersofthe ControlYuan and ExaminationYuanand the Judicial Yuan’s ConstitutionalCourtjustices;andinitiatingproposalstoamendtheConstitutionsubjecttoratifica-tionbypopularreferendum.

Further, the Legislative Yuan is em-poweredtohelpsettledisputesinvolvinglocalgovernments;initiateno-confidencevotes against the premier; review andconfirmemergencydecreesissuedbytheROC president; and impeach the ROCpresidentorvicepresident.

Toenablelegislatorstocarryouttheirresponsibilitieswithoutbeingsubjectedtounduepressures, theyaregrantedcertainimmunitiesbytheConstitution.Theyarenot legally liable for votes cast or state-mentsmadeintheLegislativeYuan.And,except in case of flagrante delicto, theycannot be arrested or detained withoutconsentoftheLegislativeYuan.

Judicial Yuan The central function of the Judicial

Yuan is to oversee the operations of thenation’s court systems, the largest ofwhichhearscriminalandcivilcasesandcomprisesdistrictcourts,highcourtsanda Supreme Court最高法院. Issues of factare adjudged by district courts and highcourts, while the Supreme Court consid-ersonlyissuesoflaw.

The Administrative Court system,consisting of regional high administra-tivecourtsandaSupremeAdministrativeCourt 最高行政法院, adjudicates cases inwhich individuals, groups of persons orjuridical persons seek remedies to viola-tions of laws or regulations allegedlycommittedbygovernmentorganizations.Thehighadministrativecourtshanddownjudgments on questions of both fact andlaw, while the Supreme AdministrativeCourtreviewsonlyquestionsoflaw.

Cases involving alleged violations ofintellectual property laws and regulationsmay, under certain circumstances and atvariousstagesoflitigation,bereferredtoaspecializedIntellectualPropertyCourt智慧

財產法院,whichbeganoperationsin2008.Through its Commission on the Dis-

ciplinarySanctionsofFunctionaries公務

員懲戒委員會,theJudicialYuanalsohandsdown decisions on administrative disci-plineofgovernmentemployeeswhohavebeencensuredorimpeachedbytheCon-trol Yuan for malfeasance or for havingbeenfoundbyacourtoflawtobeguiltyof violating criminal or civil laws. De-pendingon theseverityof theoffense inquestion, the commission may mete outpunishments including demotions, salaryreductions,demerits,reprimands,suspen-sionfromofficeordismissal.Inthecaseof political appointees, only dismissalsandreprimandsareapplicable.

Judges in the ROC’s court systemsare not appointed to their positions by apolitical leader, nor can local judges beelected. Like career civil servants in theexecutive branch, judges are selectedthrough an examination process, but theprocess is designed and administered bythe JudicialYuan rather than by the Ex-aminationYuan.Thosewhopass theex-aminationundergoanintensivecourseoftraining at the yuan’s Judicial PersonnelStudy Center 司法人員研習所. And thosewhocompletethecoursesuccessfullyare


62

4Government

appointedaslifetimejudgesinoneoftheabove-mentioned court systems. Judgeswho serve in the Intellectual PropertyCourt must additionally receive special-izedtraininginIPlegalaffairs.

AttheapexoftheROC’sjudicialsys-temaretheJusticesoftheConstitutionalCourt司法院大法官.Thecourt’s15justicesrender rulings, referred to as “interpreta-tions,” on the constitutionality of laws,legalproceduresandgovernmentactions;makerecommendationsconcerningrecti-ficationofinconsistenciesbetweendiffer-entlawsandregulations;andpresideoverimpeachment trials of thenationalpresi-dent or vice president if the LegislativeYuanpassesanimpeachmentresolution.

The justices, including the JudicialYuan president and vice president, arenominated and appointed by the ROCpresidentwiththeconsentoftheLegisla-tiveYuan. Since 2003, they have servedstaggered terms of eight years and maynotserveasecondtermconsecutively.

Examination Yuan TheExaminationYuan is responsible

foradministeringthenation’scivilservicesystem.Theprimaryrationaleforhavingthisindependentbranchofgovernmentisto ensure equality of opportunity amongcandidates for government employmentandtosetuniformstandards,salariesandbenefits throughout the central govern-mentaswellaslocalgovernments.

Thisbranchofgovernmentcomprisesa president, a vice president and up to19 members, all of whom are appointedto six-year terms by the ROC presidentwith consent of the Legislative Yuan.At the end of their terms, they may bereappointed. Subordinate organizationsunder the Examination Yuan includethe Ministry of Examination 考選部, theMinistryofCivilService銓敘部,theCivilService Protection and Training Com-mission 公務人員保障暨培訓委員會 and the

PublicServicePensionFundSupervisoryBoard公務人員退休撫卹基金監理委員會.

Control Yuan The Control Yuan is an independent

watchdog body comprised of 29 mem-bers and the Ministry of Audit 審計部.All members, including the ControlYuanpresident,aswellastheheadoftheministry—the auditor-general—are ap-pointed by the ROC president with theconsentoftheLegislativeYuanforatermofsixyears,whichmayberenewed.

The ControlYuan is mandated to in-vestigate complaints of malfeasance orcriminalactscommittedbypublicservantsor agencies and to censure or impeachthem.Individualsareabletoinitiatesuchinvestigations without having to expendlegal fees, while Control Yuan membersareempoweredtolaunchinvestigationsontheirowninitiative.ThroughtheMinistryofAudit, theControlYuanalsoexercisesthepowertomonitortheproprietyofgov-ernmentorganizations’expenditures.

Dependingupontheirfindings,ControlYuan members may vote simply to pre-scribecorrectivemeasurestoanoffendinggovernment agencyorpublic servant anddemand progress reports on their imple-mentationwithinaspecifiedtime.Incasesof serious infractions, they may issuecensures to or impeach public servants,resulting inpunishmentmetedout by theJudicialYuan’sCommissionontheDisci-plinary Sanctions of Functionaries or, incasesinvolvingmilitarypersonnel,bytheMinistryofNationalDefense.Ininstanceswherethewatchdogagencyconcludesthatcrimeshavebeencommitted,itreferssuchcasestobothcourtsandthecommission.

Local GovernmentThegovernmentsofTaiwanProvince

andFujianProvince福建省(includingtheKinmen Islands 金門列島 and the Matsu


63

Islands 馬祖列島) have been drasticallydownsized, and most of their functionshave been transferred to central govern-mentdepartments.

Thereare three levelsofautonomouslocalgovernment: specialmunicipalities,counties and provincial municipalities,andcountymunicipalitiesandtownships.Their statuses are determined by theirpopulationsandvariouslegallyprescribedeconomic, cultural and other criteria. Intermsofpopulation,aregionofover1.25millionpeoplemaybe accorded special-municipalitystatus;anareawithapopu-lation of over 500,000 can qualify as aprovincialmunicipality;andanareawithapopulationofover150,000mayrankasacountymunicipality.

Themayorsandmagistratesaswellasrepresentativecouncilmembersofcities,townsandcountiesareelectedtotermsoffouryears.Localgovernmentsobtainthebulkof theirbudgets througha revenue-sharing arrangement whereby funds areallocated to them by the central govern-mentinaccordancewithstandardcriteriaconcerningsuchfactorsaspopulationandeconomicdevelopment.

Taiwan’sadministrativemaphasbeenreshaped by the inauguration of threenew special municipalities and the ex-pansion of an existing one in December2010, in accordance with amendmentsto theLocalGovernmentActenacted inApril2009andFebruary2010.Thethreenewonesare:• NewTaipeiCity新北市,originallyTai-

peiCounty臺北縣;• Taichung City 臺中市, formed through

the merger of the original TaichungCitywithTaichungCounty臺中縣;and

• TainanCity臺南市,formedthroughthemergeroftheoriginalTainanCitywithTainanCounty臺南縣.

Meanwhile, the previously existingspecial municipality of Kaohsiung City高雄市mergedwithKaohsiungCounty高雄縣 to become today’s expanded Kao-hsiung City special municipality. Thestatusofthespecialmunicipalityandna-tionalcapital,TaipeiCity臺北市,remainsunchanged.Further,TaoyuanCounty桃園

縣wasdesignatedbytheExecutiveYuanas a provisional special municipality ef-fectiveJanuary1,2011.

This well-preserved Baroque-style edifice, which originally served as the Taipei Prefecture Hall during the Japanese colonial era, now houses the Control Yuan, the central government’s independent watchdog body.


64

4Government

Expected benefits of transforma-tion into special municipalities and theenlargement of an existing one includeenhancedgovernmentaleffectivenessandbettercoordinationofpublicresources,aswellasastrongervoicefortheirresidentsinnationalaffairs.

Clean GovernmentToboosttransparencyofgovernment

operations, inAugust2007 theLegisla-tiveYuanpassed theLobbyingAct遊說

法, which took effect in August 2008.The law requires lobbyists to registertheir lobbying activities, while centralandlocalgovernmentofficialsandelect-ed representatives must inform respon-sible agencies of their communicationswithlobbyists.

Other actions taken to combat cor-ruptioninrecentyearsincludetheenact-ment of regulations limiting the valueand sources of gifts that public servantsmayaccept,andamendmentof theAnti-Corruption Statute 貪污治罪條例 in April2009,makingitacrimefordefendantsincorruption-related cases to refuse to re-vealtheirsourcesofpersonalassets.

Reflecting such efforts, Taiwan’sranking in the Corruption PerceptionsIndex released byTransparency Interna-tional in October 2010—No. 33 out of178nations—wasupsixnotchesfromits2008ranking.

Aspartofanefforttobuildcleanergov-ernment,theAgencyAgainstCorruption法務部廉政署,dedicatedtoprevention,investi-gationandprosecutionofcorruption,beganoperationsinJuly2011undertheMinistryofJustice.Initsinitialstage,approximately240stafferswererecruitedfromtheNation-alPoliceAgency內政部警政署, the Investi-gation Bureau 法務部調查局 and the ethicsdepartmentsofgovernmentagencies.

To ensure administrative neutralityandpress freedom, theLegislativeYuaninJanuary2011approvedanamendmenttotheBudgetAct預算法,whichprohibitsgovernment agencies, state-run busi-nessesandfoundations,aswellasenter-prises in which the government holds amajoritystake,fromengaginginembed-ded advertising. In addition, promotionsofgovernmentpolicyormessagestothepublic in the media must be clearly la-beledassuch,alongwiththenameofthesponsoringagency.

President Ma Ying-jeou and Premier Wu Den-yih (third and second from right) together with Control Yuan President Wang Chien-shien (far left), Judicial Yuan President Rai Hau-min (second from left) and Executive Yuan Secretary-General Lin Join-sane applaud the inauguration of the Agency Against Corruption on July 20, 2011.


65

• Office of the President: http://www.president.gov.tw

• Executive Yuan: http://www.ey.gov.tw

• Legislative Yuan: http://www.ly.gov.tw

• Judicial Yuan: http://www.judicial.gov.tw

• Examination Yuan: http://www.exam.gov.tw

• Control Yuan: http://www.cy.gov.tw

• MyEGov: http://www.taiwan.gov.tw

Related

Websites

e-Government DevelopmentFormanyyears,ROCcentraland lo-

calgovernmentshavestriven to improvetheir services by utilizing the Internetand other information and communica-tions technologies (ICT). In addition toelectronic exchange of documents be-tween government offices, e-governmentadvances in recent years include estab-lishment of an online government pro-curement information system, creationofadatabaseenablingthepublictoviewthe full text of laws, andmechanisms toensureonlineinformationsecurity.

In 2008, the Cabinet-level Research,DevelopmentandEvaluationCommission(RDEC)行政院研究發展考核委員會drewupa four-yearUbiquitousGovernmentNet-work Plan 優質網路政府計畫(2008-2011)with funding of approximately NT$10billion (US$338.87 million) to create acomprehensivearrayofgovernmentserv-icesaccessibleviatheInternet.

Through e-government developmentprograms, agencies have implementedICT infrastructure consolidation andshared services, thus achieving greatercost-effectivenessandbetterservicequal-ity.AcaseinpointistheExecutiveYuanDataCenterConsolidationProject行政院

及所屬委員會共構機房, which has consoli-dated the ICT infrastructures of sevenparticipatingagenciesandhasbeencerti-fiedasISO20000-compliant.Meanwhile,theGovernmentServiceNetwork(GSN)政府網際服務網 has consolidated Internet

connections of government agencies,thereby saving around NT$3.6 billion(about US$122 million) annually, whileeffectivelyshieldingagenciesfromspamand malware. And through intranet ap-plicationconsolidation,11agenciesshareservices via a government-to-employees(G2E)platform.

Public utilization of simplified, in-tegrated e-government services has inrecent years increased substantially.In 2010, for example, 67.1 percent ofpersonal income tax reports were filedonline, while 97.8 percent of businessesfiled tax reports online. According toa 2010 user survey conducted by theRDEC, 78 percent of the respondentswere aware of government online serv-ices, 65.5 percent were satisfied withgovernment website information updatesand 67.4 percent were satisfied with thebenefitsofe-governmentservices.Anoth-er2010 Digital Divide Survey 99年數位落

差調查 from the RDEC showed that 86.5percentofcitizensweresatisfiedwiththeMyEGovgovernment-entryportal.

IntheGlobal Information Technology Report 2010-2011 releasedby theWorldEconomicForum,Taiwanisrankedsixthamong the138 countries included in thereport’sNetworkedReadinessIndex.Thisranking, up five notches from the previ-ousyear,isthesecond-highestinAsiaaf-terSingapore.Within that index,Taiwanranksfifthandsecond,respectively,initsgovernment readiness and governmentusagesubindicies.


Government. ROC (Taiwan) Yearbook 2011 Ch04 government

Documents

executive

judicial yuan

legislative

special municipalities

central government

examination

control yuan

local governments