Committee finalizes Cabinet reform plan

The Government Reform Commit-tee finalized its plans for the restructuring the Cabinet yesterday. According to the final proposal, the Cabinet's current 36 administrative entities will be cut down to 23.

President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) demanded the proposal officially take effect no later than May 20, 2004, the date on which his term expires.

According to the proposal, the Cabinet will have four new ministries, including a Ministry of Maritime Affairs, a Ministry of Cultural and Sports Affairs and a Ministry of Veterans Affairs.

Four ministries will be upgraded from administrative bodies. These are the Ministry of Labor and Human Resources (from the Council of Labor Affairs), the Ministry of Environmental Resources (from the Environmental Protection Administration), the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare (from the Department of Health) and the Ministry of Agricultural Affairs (from the Council of Agricultural Affairs).

"I hope the Executive Yuan will complete a concrete bill in accordance with the proposal and submit it to the legislature for review by the end of April," Chen said.

"I also hope the Legislative Yuan will pass the bill expeditiously so that the bill can immediately take effect when the next president inaugurates and nominates the new premier.

"When that happens, the new executive and new legislative institutions will create a whole new environment in which we can lay down a solid foundation for our country," Chen said.

After three hours of discussion, the conference confirmed the draft proposal adopted by the committee's staff meeting on Monday.

Central to the proposal is the idea that the entities within the Cabinet will be divided into four major segments with 18 entities for general affairs, two executive management entities, three policy-integration entities and a few independent entities, to be discussed by the Cabinet subject to need.

In addition, the Cabinet-level National Palace Museum will be elevated and report directly to the Presidential Office.

Some committee members opposed the establishment of the maritime ministry, worrying that its jurisdiction would overlap with other Cabinet departments.

"The idea of setting up the maritime ministry stemmed from the fact that Taiwan is an island nation, but it has always ignored the integration, use and protection of its maritime resources because of its over-emphasis on political and military issues," said DPP lawmaker Sheng Fu-hsiung (沈富雄).

"But the name and jurisdiction is so encompassing and vague that it could easily transgress the jurisdiction of the ministries of national defense and the interior," Sheng said.

The president said some issues still need to be resolved.

"In view of the fact that independent institutions will have a profound impact on the organization of the government, the timing of their establishment requires more deliberation on the Cabinet's part," Chen said.

The Government Reform Committee is comprised of 25 representatives from the Cabinet, business and academia and is chaired by the president.

It has held three full-member conferences and seven staff meetings during past two months to discuss the direction of the government's reorganization.

Secretary-General to the President Chen Shih-meng (陳師孟) stressed in a press conference after the decision yesterday that the president has never insisted that the reform committee's proposals be carried out in full and not be modified.

He said that instead, the president welcomes the Cabinet and the Legislative Yuan to participate in the discussion.

"However, the president also hoped that the executive officials would not stay in the way of reform. That is, they cannot resist the reforms simply because their own institutions might be adjusted," Chen Shih-meng said.

Chen Shih-meng also stressed that the reorganization of the government will not be detrimental to the welfare and benefits of public employees because the Examination Yuan has been working on a bill meant to guarantee public employees' benefits following the government's reorganization.

A point of dispute at yesterday's conference was how many independent institutions should be created.

The meeting on Monday recommended that six institutions be established, but the committee members and public opinion have remained divided on the issue.

The Cabinet has said it will further discuss the question.