Examination Yuan

The Examination Yuan consists of a council with a president, a vice president, and seven to nine members. The leaders and members are nominated by the president of the republic and approved by Legislative Yuan for four-year terms. The incumbent 13th Examination Yuan was nominated by President Tsai Ing-wen on May 28, 2020,[3] and later confirmed by Legislative Yuan on July 10, 2020.[4] Members were inaugurated on September 1, 2020, and their terms expire on August 31, 2024.

The Examination Yuan has four main agencies:[5]

• The Ministry of Examination (考選部), which administers examinations for civil servants and contract personnel.[6]
• Ministry of Civil Service (銓敘部), which oversees the pay, promotion, and retirement of civil servants.[6]
• Civil Service Protection and Training Commission (公務人員保障暨培訓委員會), which is responsible for training and protecting the rights of civil servants.[7]
• Public Service Pension Fund Supervisory Board (公務人員退休撫卹基金監理委員會)

The Examination Yuan also includes twelve offices and three committees:[5]

• Counselors
• Secretariat
• First Division
• Second Division
• Third Division
• Editing and Compilation Office
• Information Management Office
• Secretary Office
• Personnel Office
• Accounting Office
• Statistics Office
• Civil Service Ethics Office
• Petition and Appeals Committee
• Legal Affairs Committee
• Research and Development Committee

The concept of Examination Yuan is a part of the Three Principles of the People formulated by Sun Yat-sen, which was enlightened by the old Imperial examination system used in Imperial China. It is one of the five government branches ("yuans") of the Government of the Republic of China. Practically, it operates like a ministry of the Executive Yuan,[8] though its members may not be removed by the president or premier.

Examination Yuan building in Wenshan, Taipei.

After the end of Northern Expedition in 1928, the Nationalist Government set up the preparatory office of the Examination Yuan in October 1928 in which the organic law was promulgated. In May 1929, the headquarters of the Examination Yuan was inaugurated at Kuankung and Yueh Fei Temple in Nanking. In January 1930, the Examination Yuan and its subordinates Examination Committee and Ministry of Civil Service were formally established. In December 1937, the headquarters was temporarily relocated to Chungking during the Second Sino-Japanese War. After the end of World War II in 1945, the headquarters was moved back to Nanking.

In January 1950, the headquarters were relocated temporarily to Taipei Confucius Temple in Taiwan after the Chinese Civil War. In December 1951, the headquarters were moved to Muzha District, Taipei. In March 1990, the Yuheng Building of the Yuan was inaugurated.[9]

During the second revision of the Additional Articles of the Constitution in 1992, confirmation powers of its members were transferred from the Control Yuan to the Legislative Yuan, and articles related to its role as a governing body of mainland China were abolished. In 2019, the Examination Yuan was reduced from 19 members to between 7 and 9, and terms were reduced from 6 years to 4 to coincide with presidential and legislative elections.[10]

There have been calls to abolish the Examination Yuan (and the Control Yuan) by the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), the Taiwan People's Party (TPP) and New Power Party (NPP).[11][12][13] TPP caucus whip Lai Hsiang-ling stated that members of the Examination Yuan hold "fat-cat patronage appointments", whereby they earn outside income on top of their usual salary, including by teaching at universities in mainland China.[13] Additionally, the functions of the Examination Yuan are seen as overlapping with those of the Executive Yuan, and an online poll showed about half of respondents supported its abolishment.[12] President Tsai Ing-wen called for the two Yuans to be abolished at the DPP national congress in 2020;[11] the Kuomintang responded by saying that it was an effort to distract from the DPP's poor leadership, but did not provide their stance on the matter.[11] A constitutional amendment committee was formed in September of 2020 to draft proposals for the abolition of the Examination Yuan.[14]