Executive Yuan, Republic of China (Taiwan)

Organization of the Executive Yuan and its Functions

The Constitution of the Republic of China and its Additional Articles stipulate that the Executive Yuan is the highest administrative organ of the State. The Executive Yuan has a president (often referred to as the premier), a vice president (vice premier), a number of ministers, heads of commissions, and ministers without portfolio. The president of the Executive Yuan is appointed by the president of the republic. The vice president of the Executive Yuan, ministers and heads of commissions, and ministers without portfolio are appointed by the president of the republic upon the recommendation of the president of the Executive Yuan.

The Executive Yuan has an Executive Yuan Council, which comprises the president, the vice president, the various ministers and heads of commissions, and the ministers without portfolio. The president of the Executive Yuan serves as chairman of the Executive Yuan Council. The council passes resolutions on all cases submitted to the Legislative Yuan involving laws, budgets, martial law, amnesty, declarations of war, conclusions of peace, treaties, and other important affairs, as well as matters of common concern to the various ministries and commissions of the Executive Yuan. Furthermore, the Organic Law of the Executive Yuan permits the Executive Yuan Council to request that relevant personnel be present at council meetings for interpellation.

As prescribed by the Organic Law of the Executive Yuan, the Executive Yuan has a secretary-general and a deputy secretary-general, who both attend meetings of the Executive Yuan Council. In addition, within the Executive Yuan there are a Secretariat, a Committee of Laws and Regulations, an Appeals Review Committee, a Division of Personnel, a Division of Budget and Accounting, and a Government Ethics Office.

Article 6 of the Organic Law of the Executive Yuan stipulates that the Executive Yuan may, on the authority of resolutions passed by the Executive Yuan Council and the Legislative Yuan, establish, dissolve or merge ministries, commissions or other subordinate organizations. When constitutional government was introduced in 1948, there were 14 ministries, three commissions, and two offices. They were the ministries of the Interior, Foreign Affairs, National Defense, Finance, Education, Justice, Agriculture and Forestry, Industry and Commerce, Communications, Social Affairs, Water Conservancy, Land Administration, Public Health, and Food; the commissions of National Resources, Mongolian and Tibetan Affairs, and Overseas Chinese Affairs. In addition, there were the offices of the Comptroller-General and the Government Spokesman.

After the Organic Law of the Executive Yuan was revised in March 1949, the Executive Yuan was reorganized into eight ministries, two commissions and one office: the ministries of the Interior, Foreign Affairs, National Defense, Finance, Education, Justice, Economic Affairs, and Communications; the Mongolian and Tibetan Affairs Commission; and the Overseas Chinese Affairs Commission and the Office of the Comptroller-General. The original ministries of Social Affairs, Land Administration, and Public Health were merged into the Ministry of the Interior; the Ministry of Food was incorporated into the Ministry of Finance; and the ministries of Industry and Commerce, Agriculture and Forestry, and Water Conservancy, as well as the National Resources Commission, were reorganized and placed under the Ministry of Economic Affairs.

Additional changes took place in the following decades. The original Office of the Government Spokesman was reactivated in January 1954 as the Government Information Office to enhance the dissemination of government directives and policies, laws and regulations. In response to the requirements of personnel policy during the Period of National Mobilization for Suppression of the Communist Rebellion, the Central Personnel Administration was established in September 1967 to handle the personnel affairs of administrative agencies and public enterprises at all levels. The Organic Law of the Central Personnel Administration, which was formulated in accordance with the Additional Articles of the ROC Constitution, was not passed until December 30, 1993; since then, the Central Personnel Administration has been legally designated as a permanent agency under the Executive Yuan.

In June 1970, the Department of Public Health under the Ministry of the Interior was abolished and a Department of Health under the Executive Yuan was established in its place to administer public health affairs. Then in December 1979, the Central Bank of China, originally under the Office of the President, was placed under the Executive Yuan. In June 1980, with the separation of the judicial and prosecutorial systems, Article 3 of the Organic Law of the Executive Yuan was revised accordingly, and the Ministry of Justice was reorganized and its Chinese name changed. In July 1987, the Department of Health's Bureau of Environmental Health was renamed the Environmental Protection Administration and placed directly under the Executive Yuan.

In addition to the aforementioned administrative agencies, the Executive Yuan also oversees the National Palace Museum; Mainland Affairs Council; Council for Economic Planning and Development; Veterans Affairs Commission; National Youth Commission; Atomic Energy Council; National Science Council; Research, Development and Evaluation Commission; Council of Agriculture; Council for Cultural Affairs; Council of Labor Affairs; Fair Trade Commission; Consumer Protection Commission; Public Construction Commission; Council of Indigenous Peoples; National Sports Council; Coordination Council for North American Affairs; and Central Election Commission.
There are currently a total of 34 subordinate organizations under the Executive Yuan, including eight ministries, the Mongolian and Tibetan Affairs Commission, the Overseas Chinese Affairs Commission, the Directorate General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics, the Government Information Office, and other special commissions and ad hoc committees. The organizational systems and principal functions of the ministries, commissions and other agencies (excluding secretariats and departments handling personnel, budget and accounting, government ethics, and general affairs) under the Executive Yuan are as follows:

The Ministry of the Interior handles domestic administrative affairs. Under the ministry are the National Police Administration, Construction and Planning Administration, and National Fire Administration, in addition to the Departments of Civil Affairs, Population Administration, Conscription, Social Affairs, and Land Administration.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is made up of the Departments of East Asian and Pacific Affairs, West Asian Affairs, African Affairs, European Affairs, North American Affairs, Central and South American Affairs, Treaty and Legal Affairs, International Organizations, Information and Cultural Affairs, Protocol, and Economic and Trade Affairs; the Office of Records and Data Processing; the Office of Telecommunication Services; the Bureau of Consular Affairs; and the Foreign Service Institute. The ministry supervises the operations of embassies, consulates, and representative offices abroad.
The Ministry of National Defense is composed of the Minister's Office; the Departments of Manpower, Materials, and Law; the Bureau of the Controller; the Judge Advocates Bureau; the Procurement Bureau; and the General Staff Headquarters, which commands the General Headquarters of the Army, Navy, and Air Force, the Combined Services Force, the Military Police Command, and the Armed Forces Reserve Command.
The Ministry of Finance consists of the Departments of Customs Administration, Insurance, National Treasury, and Taxation; the National Property Bureau; the national tax administrations of various districts; the Data Processing Center; the Directorate General of Customs; the Bureau of Monetary Affairs; the Securities and Exchange Commission; the Farmers Bank of China; and the Chiao Tung Bank.
The Ministry of Education comprises the Departments of Higher Education, Technical and Vocational Education, Secondary Education, Elementary Education, Social Education, and Physical Education; the Bureau of International Cultural and Educational Relations; the Office of Student Military Training; the National Central Library; the National Institute for Compilation and Translation; the National Museum of History; the National Institute of Education Resources and Research; the National Dr. Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall; the National Chiang Kai-shek Cultural Center; the National Museum of Natural Science; the National Research Institute of Chinese Medicine; and national universities and colleges. This ministry also maintains educational exchange offices abroad.
The Ministry of Justice handles state prosecution, manages prisons and rehabilitation programs and conducts the legal affairs of the Executive Yuan. It consists of the Departments of Legal Affairs, Prosecutorial Affairs, Corrections, and Rehabilitation and Social Protection; the Investigation Bureau; the Judges and Prosecutors Training Institute; prisons; custody centers; juvenile detention centers; juvenile reformatory houses; and vocational training institutions.
The Ministry of Economic Affairs is organized into the Mines Department, Commerce Department, and International Cooperation Department; the Industrial Development and Investment Center; the Bureau of Commodity Inspection and Quarantine; the Water Resources Bureau; the Industrial Development Bureau; the Board of Foreign Trade; the National Bureau of Standards; the Export Processing Zone Administration; and the Small and Medium Enterprise Administration. State-run enterprises such as the Chinese Petroleum Corporation, the China Steel Corporation, and the Taiwan Power Company are also under the ministry. The MOEA maintains economic offices abroad.
The Ministry of Transportation and Communications is divided into the Departments of Railways and Highways, Posts and Telecommunications, and Navigation and Aviation; the Civil Aeronautics Administration; the Tourism Bureau; the Central Weather Bureau; the Taiwan Area National Freeway Bureau; the Engineering Office of Taipei Railway Underground Project; the Taiwan Area National Expressway Engineering Bureau; the Engineering Office of Highspeed Rail; and the Institute of Transportation. This ministry also manages public enterprises such as the Directorate General of Telecommunications and the Directorate General of Posts.
The Mongolian & Tibetan Affairs Commission handles matters concerning Mongolia and Tibet, and provides special services to people of Mongolian and Tibetan heritage. The commission consists of the Department of Mongolian Affairs and the Department of Tibetan Affairs.
The Overseas Compatriot Affairs Commission administers affairs relating to Chinese nationals residing abroad and provides business development assistance. The commission provides its services through four departments: the Overseas Chinese Students Center; and the Overseas Chinese Passport and Visa Office. It also has a correspondence school and stations personnel at ROC embassies and representative offices overseas.
The Central Bank is charged with issue of currency, maintaining national monetary stability both domestically and against foreign currency, and overseeing bank operations. The Central Bank conducts its work through the Departments of Banking, Issue, Foreign Exchange, Treasury, Banking Examination, and Economic Research. The actual manufacture of currency is handled by the China Engraving and Printing Works and the Central Mint of China.
The Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics is the nation's highest budgetary, accounting, and statistics office. It has four bureaus and an Electronic Data Processing Center.
The Government Information Office explains national policy, disseminates information about laws and regulations, assists and oversees the development of the publishing, television, radio and film industries, and distributes news and information both at home and abroad. There are eight departments: Domestic Information Services, International Information Services, Publication Affairs, Motion Picture Affairs, Radio and Television Affairs, Compilation and Translation, Audio-Visual Services, and Planning and Evaluation; as well as a Division of Information and Protocol. The GIO also maintains information offices overseas.
The Central Personnel Administration is in charge of researching and making recommendations on personnel policy and regulations for all Executive Yuan organizations. It is organized into the Divisions of Planning, Manpower, Appraisal and Training, and Compensation; the Computer Center; the Housing and Welfare Commission; and the Manpower Development Center for Civil Servants.
The Department of Health oversees public health through the Bureaus of Medical Affairs, Pharmaceutical Affairs, Food Sanitation, Communicable Disease Control, Health Promotion and Protection, Health Planning, and Narcotics; the National Laboratories of Foods and Drugs; the National Quarantine Service; the National Institute of Preventive Medicine; and the National Health Insurance Bureau.
The Environmental Protection Administration includes the Bureaus of Comprehensive Planning, Air Quality Protection and Noise Control, Water Quality Protection, Solid Waste Control, Environmental Sanitation and Toxic Chemicals Control, Performance Evaluation and Dispute Settlement, and Environmental Monitoring and Data Processing; the National Institute of Environmental Analysis; and the National Institute of Environmental Training.
The Coast Guard Administration.
The National Palace Museum is charged with the preservation, cataloguing, maintenance, exhibition, research, and examination of the nation's traditional art treasures. The museum also undertakes cultural exchanges involving its collection. It is organized into three departments: Antiquity, Painting, and Archives; and three divisions: Exhibition, Publication, and Registration. It also includes the Science and Technology Office and the Security Office.
The Mainland Affairs Council handles matters relating to Taiwan and the Chinese mainland. Under the council are the Departments of Research and Planning, Cultural and Educational Affairs, Economic Affairs, Legal Affairs, Hong Kong and Macau Affairs, and Information and Liaison. The MAC oversees the Straits Exchange Foundation, which is a private organization empowered by the government to deal with the mainland on matters of a technical or business nature that might involve the government's public authority, but would be inappropriate for the government to handle.
The Council for Economic Planning and Development has eight departments: Overall Planning, Economic Research, Sectorial Planning, Manpower Planning, Urban and Housing Development, Financial Analysis, and Performance Evaluation.
The Veterans Affairs Commission provides a number of services to retired servicemen, including job placement, health and medical care, vocational training, educational guidance counseling, old-age care, and emergency relief. The commission conducts its services through various veteran general hospitals, veteran hospitals, veterans homes, veterans domiciliary centers, veterans service departments, farms, and factories. The Ret-Ser Engineering Agency is also under the commission.
The Financial Supervisory Commission.
The National Youth Commission is organized into four departments, which provide vocational training, employment assistance, and activity guidance services for young people. The commission also operates the Youth Vocational Training Center.
The Atomic Energy Council is charged with the planning and promotion of atomic energy and the research and development of nuclear science for peaceful purposes. Under the council are the Departments of Planning, Nuclear Regulation, Radiation Protection, and Nuclear Technology; the Radiation Monitoring Center; the Fuel Cycle and Materials Administration; and the Institute of Nuclear Energy Research. The AEC also stations personnel abroad.
The National Science Council has the following divisions: Natural Sciences and Mathematics, Engineering and Applied Sciences, Life Sciences, Humanities and Social Sciences, Science Education, International Programs, and Planning and Evaluation; and the General Administration Department. It also oversees the Science-based Industrial Park Administration, the Precision Instrument Development Center, and the Science and Technology Information Center. Also under the council are specialized national laboratories, including the Synchrotron Radiation Research Center, the National Nano Device Laboratories, the National Center for Research on Earthquake Engineering, the National Center for High-performance Computing, and the National Space Program Office.
The Research, Development and Evaluation Commission plans and promotes national research and development related to administrative affairs. In addition to managing administrative data and government publications and documents, the commission also controls the implementation of major administrative programs and evaluates the performance of various government agencies. It consists of the Departments of Research and Development, Overall Planning, Control and Evaluation, Information Systems Management, and Documentation and Publication.
The Coordination Council for North American Affairs is charged with promoting and preserving continued relations between the ROC and the US. The council's headquarters is organized into a Business Division and a Administration Division. The CCNAA maintains representative offices in Washington DC as well as other major cities in the US.
The Council of Agriculture is organized into the Departments of Economics and Planning, Food and Agriculture, Forestry, Fisheries, Animal Industry, and Farmers Service. The Deep Sea Fishing Training Center is also under the COA.
The Council for Cultural Affairs formulates cultural policies and promotes cultural development. It carries out its responsibilities through three departments and personnel stationed abroad.
The Council of Labor Affairs administers the nation's labor affairs through the Departments of Labor-Management Relations, Labor Conditions, Labor Welfare, Labor Insurance, Labor Safety and Health, Labor Inspection, and General Labor Planning. Subordinate agencies include the Employment and Vocational Training Administration, the Bureau of Labor Insurance, and the Institute of Occupational Safety and Health.
The Fair Trade Commission enforces the ROC's Fair Trade Law. The council is organized into the First, Second, Third, Planning, and Legal Affairs Divisions.
The Consumer Protection Commission studies and reviews basic policies on consumer protection and oversees implementation. It consists of three departments: Research and Planning, Supervision and Coordination, and Legal Affairs. There are also several consumer ombudsmen.
The Public Construction Commission plans, reviews and oversees public construction projects and coordinates related affairs. Under the commission are the Planning, Technical, and Construction Management Departments.
The Council of Indigenous Peoples was organized for improving the lives of the aboriginal peoples on Taiwan. It is divided into the Departments of Planning, Education and Culture, Social Welfare, and Economic and Land Development.
The Sports Affairs Council handles athletic affairs and integrates resources for promoting public physical education.
The Council of Hakka Affairs.
The Central Election Commission is responsible for the election and recall of public office holders at the central government level, as well as members of the Provincial Assembly and the councils of the special municipalities of Taipei and Kaohsiung. The commission also supervises the election and recall of public office holders at and under the county and provincial municipality levels. The commission is divided into the First, Second, Third, Fourth, and Legal Affairs Divisions. The CEC also maintains an Information Office.
The Aviation Safety Council.
The National Communications Commission.

Date: 2006/1/1

Executive Yuan

Updated: 2010/2/3