Cabinet edgy over proposal to merge `ethnic' agencies

Out of fear of provoking a backlash from ethnic minorities, the Cabinet late last night said it had not yet decided to merge three agencies dealing with ethnic affairs into a single agency.

"We have not yet reached the final decision, although it's one of the many options," said Yeh Jiunn-rong (葉俊榮), the head of the Cabinet's Research, Development and Evaluation Commission, the agency handling the restructuring. "We're not in a hurry to come to a conclusion because we still have one to two weeks to hammer out a well-thought-out plan."

Shih Nun-jeh (施能傑), deputy chairman of the commission, had said earlier in reference to the ethnic affairs merger that it was not a good idea to establish a particular government agency dedicated to serving a specific group of people.

"We thought it'd be a better idea to combine the three councils dealing with ethnic issues into one that highlights the importance of ethnic equality and human rights," he said.

The Cabinet on Wednesday will release draft amendments to the Organic Law of the Executive Yuan (行政院組織法) which will include the proposal to abolish the Council of Aboriginal Affairs, the Council of Hakka Affairs and the Council of Mongolian and Tibetan Affairs, transferring responsibility for these jurisdictions to a proposed ethnic equality commission.

The move comes after the legislature passed the Standard Organic Law of Central Government Agencies (中央政府機關組織基準法) in June.

The law limits the number of Cabinet ministries to 13, the number of commissions to four and independent institutions to five -- a total of 22 agencies.

The Cabinet had earlier proposed to reduce its 35 agencies to 26, including 15 ministries, six commissions and five independent institutions.

In addition to eight particular ministries mandated by the Organic Law of the Executive Yuan, the five new ministries would cover public health, agriculture, culture, labor and maritime affairs.

The four commissions would include the present Mainland Affairs Council, a new national development council and a technology council.

The five independent entities would be the Central Bank and the National Palace Museum (unchanged), a new financial supervisory board, a new national communications commission and a revamped Aviation Safety Council.

Government reform was one of President Chen Shui-bian's (陳水扁) key campaign promises.

To expedite the process, the Cabinet has set up a 25-member taskforce under the supervision of the Research, Development and Evaluation Commission.

The Cabinet in April 2002 approved three draft bills that would facilitate the restructuring of the Cabinet.

The Standard Organic Law of Central Government Agencies provides a legal basis for the central government to establish independent institutions.

Meanwhile, a separate bill, the Law Governing the Total Number of Civil Servants Employed by Central Government Agencies (中央政府機關總員額法), would set a ceiling for the total number of public servants working in the five branches of the central government, the Presidential Office, the National Security Council and the National Assembly at 200,500.