In a country famed for its unwieldy bureaucracy, the announcement this past weekend that two national committees had been formed to deal with Taiwan's quake reconstruction efforts might ordinarily have drawn a groan of dismay from the public. That it did not is testament to the potential of both to speed up and improve the quality of current government-led operations. As such, their establishment should be commended and their members should be encouraged in their work.
The Nationwide Civilian Post-quake Reconstruction Coordination and Review Alliance (全國民間災後重建協調監督聯盟) led by Academia Sinica President Lee Yuan-Tseh (
Both organizations are intended to perform the vital function, which this paper has called for, of monitoring and coordinating the massive flow of donations -- at latest count, totalling nearly NT$9 billion -- that the people of Taiwan have contributed to help victims of the quake rebuild their lives. Without such organizations there exists a serious gap in accountability, which raises the possibility of waste or misuse of these funds. Were that to happen, the recovery would certainly be delayed or impeded and a tremendous opportunity would be squandered for Taiwan to develop a culture of civic philanthropy.
With so much at stake, these committees need to go to work without delay. The selection of their leaders is a good first step, as both are highly respected members of their communities. The large number of NGOs that have joined the Reconstruction Coordination and Review Alliance is also an excellent sign.
We have two further recommendations to make, however. First, the two organizations should not be merged, as some have suggested. Their character and functions, although similar, are distinct and should remain so. The Reconstruction Coordination and Review Alliance should remain completely independent of the government, including only NGO and academic representatives, and it should maintain its bat against politicians. Only then would it have the moral authority and credibility to supervise the reconstruction work being carried out by Taiwan's NGOs.
The Civil Donations Management Committee should be a mixed bunch, including NGOs, but also including business and government representatives. The announcement that Lee will join as vice-chairman, and that Legislative Yuan speaker Wang Jyn-ping (
The second suggestion is that a legal basis be created for the operation of the committees as soon as possible, through legislation or administrative guidelines, defining their responsibilities and authorizing their powers, taking into account the above principles.
We are already seeing danger signs of abuse of the enormous budgets available for reconstruction, for example in the apparent political maneuvering between different levels of government and different political parties. The urgency and necessity of properly functioning oversight bodies is clear. Hopefully, these two committees will be able to fill this crucial role.
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