In order to meet public expectations, the Executive Yuan has announced a Cabinet reshuffle involving the change of 16 officials, declaring the official launch of the new “Artificial Intelligence Action Cabinet 2.0.”
As a civil servant, I understand deeply that the government must first address public grievances in order for citizens to truly feel its impact. In 2019, just half a month after then-premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) assumed office, he actively sought to understand the public’s hardships and concerns, identified problems, investigated the sources of dissatisfaction, monitored public opinion and quickly dispelled rumors. He held a series of meetings with party legislators to gather public feedback and implemented a number of down-to-earth reforms aimed at solving inconveniences citizens experienced as a result of organizational and bureaucratic inefficiencies.
One such reform addressed the requirement for citizens to show ID when withdrawing more than NT$30,000 from the bank — the regulation was adjusted in January 2019 to allow “regular customers” to withdraw up to NT$500,000 without needing to present identification. This effectively eliminated the obstacles commonly faced by small and medium-sized business owners when accessing cash.
At that time, as the African swine fever outbreak in China was spreading rapidly, the Executive Yuan mandated the procurement of X-ray machines at airports to thoroughly inspect luggage being brought in by incoming travelers. This measure effectively prevented pork products from affected areas from entering Taiwan, thereby averting a potential collapse of the nation’s pig farming industry.
These are concrete examples of how the public sector can properly exercise administrative power to achieve tangible results that are felt by the public.
The Executive Yuan should issue a directive to all ministries and agencies requiring them to submit reports on current administrative measures that the public finds inconvenient, as well as any matters related to livelihood reforms. The authorities should be tasked with devising solutions to these issues within a set timeframe. Meanwhile, the National Development Council should strictly monitor and manage the progress and timeline of these efforts to ensure the public feels a tangible impact.
Furthermore, ministries and agencies should recruit creative talent with strong policy communication skills to strengthen media outreach and manage public discourse — this is especially true when it comes to addressing misinformation on social media, as agencies should abandon overly formal or official language in favor of clear, accessible language that the public can easily understand. By presenting concise and persuasive statements or infographics, they could take control of the narrative, prevent national policies from being misunderstood or distorted and enter a new era of governance.
Yeh Yu-cheng is a civil servant.
Translated by Kyra Gustavsen
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