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Premier tells bureaucrats to stay politically neutral

Staying neutral: * Civil servants will be barred from taking part in activities organized by a particular political party or group; printing, distributing or posting campaign documents, pictures or flyers; or taking a job with any political party, political group or their campaign office. * They cannot host campaign rallies, initiate a march or signature drive or run campaign ads. * Political appointees, however, such as members of the Examination Yuan, Control Yuan and Council of Grand Justices, would not face the same restrictions as career civil servants.

Premier Yu Shyi-kun yesterday called on civil servants to maintain administrative neutrality ahead of next year's presidential election, in accordance with the guidelines set down for them.

"Administrative neutrality means that civil servants should bear in mind the interests of the nation and the people and exert themselves to help push the government's policies in a fair, neutral and objective manner," Cabinet Spokesman Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) quoted Yu as saying yesterday morning.

Yu made the remarks during the weekly closed-door Cabinet meeting after listening to a briefing presented by Lee Yi-yang (李逸洋), director-general of the Cabinet's Central Personnel Administration, on the government's plan to push for civil servants' administrative neutrality.

Lee said regular civil servants, who entered the civil sector after passing the national civil-servant examinations, would be banned from supporting or opposing a political party, according to the draft law governing administrative neutrality of civil servants (公務人員行政中立法) that the Cabinet has passed and sent to the legislature for approval.

The draft law also states that civil servants should not engage in activities organized by a particular political party or group; print, distribute or post campaign documents, pictures or flyers; or take a job with any political party, political group or their campaign office.

They would also be prohibited from wearing outfits bearing the insignia or flags of any candidate or party or displaying such insignia.

Hosting campaign rallies, initiating a march or signature drive, running campaign ads or commercials in the media would also be forbidden.

The draft law also applies to public school superintendents, teachers, employees; professionals employed by social educational institutions; research fellows at academic institutions; military personnel and managers and employees of state-run businesses.

Political appointees, on the other hand, would have more leeway because they enjoy a different level of rights and responsibilities, Lee said.

According to the draft bill of the administrative officers law (政務人員法), political appointees would be allowed to take up a job with a political party, group or campaign office.

This bill would apply to mem-bers of the Examination Yuan, Control Yuan, Council of Grand Justices, the Fair Trade Commission and the Central Election Commission and the commission's local chapters.

Political appointees could also host campaign rallies; initiate a march or signature drive and run campaign ads or commercials.

They would, however, be banned from engaging in campaign activities during office hours.

Nor would they be allowed to take advantage of their authority to ask other civil servants to engage in activities prohibited by law.
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