Mayor Chang has no need for tears

The much speculated-upon opening for the "top ministry job" -- Minister of the Interior -- was finally filled after President-elect Chen Shui-bian's (陳水扁) repeated attempts at persuading Chiayi Mayor Chang Po-ya (張博雅) culminated in her tearful farewell to the people of Chiayi.

Perhaps Chang's repeated decline of the offer of the ministry was due to her reluctance to leave her beloved Chiayi residents. However, I personally feel that the mayor, the people and Chiayi City really should not miss one important consequence of Chang's departure.

By taking over the Minister of Interior office, Chang will actually have even more opportunities to benefit the people of Chiayi City.

This past February, Chang and several DPP county commissioners and city mayors attended an annual conference hosted by the Taipei government to evaluate the implementation of local system laws. During the conference, Chang, as well as other participants, pointed out how the central government's totalitarian attitude toward the centralized collection of power and money has become a persistant nightmare for local governments.

They harshly criticized the tough demeanor of the ministries under the government's centralized policy, especially the ministries' lack of sincerity in implementing local self-governance. In particular they noted the lack of concern for the financial and personnel difficulties of local governments.

The talks underscored the helplessness of DPP local administrations. Although legislators from all three major parties attended the conference as a formal show of respect, the conclusion reached in the conference was "for reference only," since the KMT still controlled the central government.

During the National Development Conference (國家發展會議) held in 1996, decisions were made to: 1) freeze elections for provincial governor and provincial assembly deputies; 2) appoint, rather than elect, city mayors, county commissioners and township mayors; 3) enhance the official power and authority of the city and county governments, as well as those of the newly-added deputy county commissioner and city mayor offices; and 4) pass general regulations on local taxation, allocation of government revenues and expenditures, as soon as possible.

However, as a result of the KMT's crushing defeat in the elections for county commissioners and city mayors, the agreement reached during the conference was breached. This breach, effectively kept intact city mayor and county commissioner elections, deemed by many as the nursery of "black gold" politics and corrupt elections in Taiwan.

Relying on its majority in the Legislative Yuan and its power to draft administrative regulations, the KMT further centralized the power of the central government by drafting laws and regulations on local self-governance.

For example, the central government, ignoring the severe lack of funding for local governments, was very specific about the percentage of funding to be distributed to the counties, cities and special municipalities -- down to the most miniscule detail. Even then, as much as NT$160 billion worth of subsidies for the local governments was kept in the central government's pocket to be used for strategic vote-buying.

The local governments' authority over personnel and organizational matters was limited even further when former Minister of Executive Yuan Wu Jung-ming (吳容明) suggested that a simplification of the hiring procedures and increases in personnel, made pursuant to the Regulations on the Local Administrative Agencies and Organizations (地方行政機關組織準則), should be subjected to an 1.8 percent ceiling for the central government.