In a public hearing held last week, academics and government split over whether the occupation of "liyishi," (
A "master of etiquette" oversees the behavior of those who attend a traditional Taiwanese funeral, informing them as to what obeisances to perform and when to perform them.
The hearing, held by the Ministry of the Interior (MOI) Thursday, aimed to draft a law to certify and regulate masters of etiquette. Representations included academics, funeral business owners and the MOI, as well as the Executive Yuan.
"At this hearing, academics and Examination Yuan representatives held different opinions over how the certification and management should be done. The academics hoped to establish a framework for this profession so that masters of etiquette may receive specialized licenses, in the same way that accountants obtain licenses through specialized examinations. But the Examination Yuan thought that, given the lack of training programs in the funeral profession, the time to take the profession to such a specialized level has not yet arrived," Cheng Ying-hung (
Cheng explained that the Examination Yuan's perspective was not to rush into setting up an examination system for two reasons.
"First, the Examination Yuan felt that a concrete educational and training program should be in place before such an examination can be devised. Second, the Examination Yuan felt that the nature of any license given to masters of etiquette should be further looked into," said Cheng.
The Examination Yuan pointed out that in order for professional license examinations to be conducted at a national level for the funeral business, it is essential that related major programs are offered at university level. But so far only one university in Taiwan offers a program relating to funeral management, Cheng said.
At the hearing, funeral industry representatives reached a consensus that professional certification should be given to masters of etiquette, but the authority in charge of certification need not be the government.
"For instance, many financial professionals receive their licenses through well-established and trusted non-government organizations, where the public does not question the authority of these organizations." But there was a problem of credibility. "Given the current funeral industry, which organization is to be placed in authority?" Cheng said.
Cheng stated that, despite the diverse opinions presented at the hearing, the MOI is still looking into different possibilities to certify masters of etiquette.
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