Amid calls for its abolition, the Examination Yuan yesterday issued a statement urging people to respect its constitutionally ordained right to independently oversee the national examinations of civil servants — but the move drew flak from several incumbent and newly appointed members.
The Examination Yuan is now headed by Wu Chin-lin (伍錦霖) of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT), while Huang Jong-tsun (黃榮村), the newly appointed Examination Yuan president and a former minister of education, is to assume office, along with other newly appointed members, on Sept. 1 for the next four years.
Many lawmakers across party lines have renewed their calls to abolish the Examination Yuan and the Control Yuan — two of the five branches of government — when the Presidential Office nominated new members for the two bodies.
Photo: Yang Mien-chieh, Taipei Times
During the Legislative Yuan’s review last month of nominees for the Examination Yuan, Huang said that he was prepared to be its last president.
Abolishing the Examination Yuan, or attempting to undermine the independence of the power of examination, will result in officials being appointed not because of ability, but because of personal preferences, trampling on the rights of the disadvantaged, setting back government efficiency and damaging administrative neutrality, the Examination Yuan said in a statement.
Since the first examination was conducted in 1950, national exams have been held as the standard for the recruitment of civil servants, evidence that the public agrees with Article 85 of the Constitution, which states: “The selection of civil servants should be based on the results of open competition via an examination system,” it said.
The policy of selecting talent via public examinations guarantees the rights of the disadvantaged and allows ease of transition for people from different social strata, it said.
The Examination Yuan’s efforts to ensure fair competition for civil servant positions have resulted in the abolition of laws and regulations that would otherwise allow people to become civil servants without passing the examinations, it said.
Allowing government agencies to simultaneously hire contract-based employees and those who passed national examinations would not only push personnel costs beyond the currently projected 8 percent, but also severely dampen morale for those who took and passed the national exams, it said.
Should the Examination Yuan be abolished and the Executive Yuan insist that it has control over all executive matters — including the right to appoint officials — it would undermine guarantees of non-partisanship for civil servants as stipulated in Article 18 of the Constitution and sow the seeds of doubt among the public regarding government neutrality, the statement read.
However, a statement issued later yesterday by incoming Examination Yuan vice president Chou Hung-hsien (周弘憲), two incumbent members — Yang Ya-hui (楊雅惠) and Chen Tzu-yang (陳慈陽) — and other officials said that the Examination Yuan should respect the Legislative Yuan and public opinion.
Examination Yuan members should state their own opinions as individuals, instead of issing a collective statement under the agency’s name, they said.
As to whether the government should be composed of three or five branches, the Legislative Yuan has the right to propose constitutional amendments, they added.
The argument for the independence of the power of examination is weak, as Taiwan is the only democratic nation in the world that has a five-branch system of government, they said.
Additional reporting by CNA
A video allegedly featuring retired general Kao An-kuo (高安國) calling on Taiwanese military officers to surrender to China and overthrow the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) government has sparked outrage and calls for him to be charged with treason. The video, titled “A message to Taiwanese military officers,” allegedly shows Kao saying: “I call on commanding officers of our military troops to stand up for Chinese nationalism, to take up this duty under heaven’s mandate to save Taiwanese from oppression and terrible suffering.” Dressed in military fatigues and a beret, the lieutenant general called on officers to overthrow the “fraudulent DPP regime,”
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday rejected the claim Beijing has been making about Taiwan’s status, while thanking US Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman for raising concerns about Taiwan during her meeting with Chinese officials. Sherman met with Chinese Minister of Foreign Affairs Wang Yi (王毅) on a visit to Tianjin on Sunday and Monday, with Wang urging Washington not to infringe on China’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. Taiwan is part of China, a fundamental fact that would never change, and China has the right to take any action needed to restrain Taiwanese independence, Wang said, urging Washington to abide
A solo exhibition by Taiwanese artist Lee Kuang-yu (李光裕) at Singapore’s Gardens by the Bay has generated considerable attention since its opening last year, including from Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong (李顯龍). Since the COVID-19 pandemic closed borders early last year, domestic tourism in Singapore has soared at destinations such as the popular Gardens by the Bay, a nature park in the city-state’s Central Region. Since the venue’s reopening in August last year, “A Sculptor’s Secret Garden,” a solo exhibition of Lee Kuang-yu’s work curated by Tan Hwee Koon (陳慧君), has been been especially popular. Originally scheduled to close today, the show
HASTY REVIEW CLAIMS: Medigen’s vaccine, which is to start phase 3 clinical trials later this year, should not have received emergency use authorization, Hau said Former Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) vice chairman Hau Lung-bin (郝龍斌) is to appeal the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) authorization of Medigen Vaccine Biologics’ COVID-19 vaccine, he said yesterday. The administration on July 19 granted Medigen emergency use authorization, even though the drugmaker had not yet completed phase 3 clinical trials. The government should not authorize the use of a vaccine that has not completed phase 3 trials, Hau said in Taipei on the sidelines of an event to distribute boxed meals with former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) and Broadcasting Corp of China chairman Jaw Shaw-kong (趙少康). Hau said the government had politicized
RSS