Government efficiency has always been criticized in Taiwan. Yesterday, President Chen Shui-bian
The Hualien park case, unfortunately, is the rule, not the exception. The response to the Pachang Creek
On Tuesday, Cabinet ministers attending a meeting of Chen's nine-member task force said the chains of command within government agencies have been seriously jeopardized because many civil servants resist orders from their politically appointed superiors. The ministers urged quick action to resolve the problem.
Taiwan's civil service is in a decrepit state. Poor performance can be directly linked to the lack of incentives, political interference and corruption -- all of which have eroded the concept of administering according to the law. Civil servants enjoy extensive benefits, mandated by legislation, including job security, promotions and pay raises. Promotions are based on personal connections and seniority rather than merit. This has produced a culture where civil servants are afraid to take responsibility and try to involve as many other agencies as they can in their work in order to evade the blame in case of mistakes. Every day, civil servants sip their tea and wait -- wait for punch-out time, for promotion, for retirement.
Under the KMT's rule, every level of government was completely in the grip of party organizations. The party could override laws, while political influence determined promotions. As a result, there is no tradition of administrative neutrality. Since the DPP came to power, many bureaucrats have been resisting its command. The DPP's "greening" of the establishment [putting more party members into the government] has prompted more resistance.
Another long-entrenched problem is the confusion between political and administrative responsibility. In the KMT era, high-level political appointees always took credit for jobs well done, but never the responsibility for major mistakes, because the blame was laid on civil servants. The DPP government has swung in the opposite direction -- political appointees are blamed and fired for mishaps, while the administrative responsibilities of civil servants are often overlooked. The minister of economic affairs did not have to step down over his decision to halt construction of the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant
Without legislative amendments requiring effective management and other steps to invigorate civil servants, the bureaucratic machine will remain comatose. Without legislation ensuring political neutrality of civil servants at work, they will never be freed from political entanglements.
Taiwan ranked behind Singapore, Japan and Hong Kong in a recently released list of "least corrupt" countries in East and Southeast Asia. As long as corruption persists in the civil service, backroom dealings will continue to jeopardize administrative procedures and undercut efficiency.
Chen's inaugural speech was titled "Taiwan Stands Up." One year on, he needs to make sure that Taiwan is not just standing, but moving and moving ahead. Only when the rule of law is actualized and administrative efficiency improved can Taiwan regain its competitiveness and slow the business exodus.
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