As part of the government's efforts to improve the performance of civil servants, plans are reportedly being made to incorporate English-proficiency tests into the qualification and promotion exams for civil servants. While this praiseworthy move is long overdue, the government needs to do much more to improve the efficiency and image of civil servants.
Almost everyone in Taiwan has stories about unpleasant experiences with bureaucrats and the incredible inefficiency that often compounded the frustrations of dealing with government red-tape. A common denominator in many tales is the inordinate amount of time spent waiting at a local district office before a clerk finally felt like accepting a household registration application or some other form. Or of a clerk rejecting a form without explanation of what was wrong or what information was lacking. Then there are the stories about the tokens of apprecia-tion, both large and small, needed to encourage a bureaucrat to do his or her job.
As a result of democratization, the people of Taiwan have become increasingly aware of the fact that they are the real rulers of this country and that the government exists to serve them. In the process, civil servants have undergone considerable changes in attitude both toward the public and in terms of job efficiency. But much more is needed.
Some of this change has been helped along by crackdowns on corruption. Another aid has been the scrapping of the old system of job evaluation under which every civil servant automatically got a turn to receive a good rating. Everyone is now supposed to be rated strictly on job performance and those who perform poorly face a real possibility of being booted out. Making senior officials take responsibility for errors has also helped change attitudes.
Lin Wen-yuan (
But improving efficiency and accountability is just one step. Taiwan's entry into the WTO and efforts to compete in the globalized economy have highlighted another embarrassing shortcoming of civil servants -- their lack of proficiency in foreign languages, including English. In fact, what they need is not just the language skills, but a more international perspective.
How to accomplish these goals is the next question. Including tests on English or other languages in civil service exams may help the government find more people proficient in English, but these people may not be good enough to meet other qualifications. What about all current civil servants -- what kind of incentives are needed to encourage them to improve their foreign language skills? If the government is serious about making English a second official language, then these questions must be dealt with as soon as possible.
More continuing education courses, more tests, more accurate job performance evaluations -- all these will help nurture better bureaucrats. But most of all, civil servants at every level of the central and local governments must remember who they serve -- not their bosses, nor any one political party -- but the people of Taiwan.
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