Examination Yuan Appointments Spark Political Turmoil

On May 21, President Chen Shui-bian announced his choices for the president, vice-president and other officials of the Examination Yuan as well as for posts in the Control Yuan and the Council of Grand Justices, and sought their endorsement by the Legislative Yuan. His choices for president and vice president of the Examination Yuan were ROC Presidential Advisor Yao Chia-wen and Minister of the Interior Chang Po-ya. Nominees for the Control Yuan included Chao Yang-ching, Lin Yun, Kuo Ji-ren, Lee Chin-yung and other members of the 3rd Control Yuan.

After a month of lobbying by President Chen and his party, the Legislative Yuan put the President's nominations on the agenda for a round of debate and a vote of consent.

Due to Yao's support of Taiwan independence in the past, the opposition parties (the KMT and People First Party) felt that an 'ideological' nominee was an inappropriate choice for a 'neutral' administrative post such as president of the Examination Yuan. As a result, they did not find him very acceptable.

In early June, while questioned by the Legislative Yuan, Yao said that if endorsed as president of the Examination Yuan, he would withdraw from the DPP. Further, he would vote, but not campaign on behalf of, candidates in the next presidential election. Examination Yuan vice president nominee Chang stated that if endorsed she would assist in civil service system reform by advocating professional and effective management of government agencies. In the future, public officials would need to be certified, and those that failed to meet the new criteria would be phased out.

With a lack of consensus between the ruling and opposition parties coming on top of other contentious issues such as the budgets for state-owned enterprises, the vote on the nominees for the Examination Yuan became another "front" in the ongoing battle between political foes.

On the day of the vote, the opposition and ruling parties competed for undecided legislators, hoping to win them to their cause. The opposition kept a close watch on their own members, prohibiting them from entering the chamber to vote. (The nominees had to get 50% of the total number of legislators, not just of legislators in attendance, to be approved.) But KMT legislators Lin Chin-chun, Lu Hsin-min, Yang Wen-hsin and Lin Nan-sheng ignored the party's instructions, despite the threat of sanctions. Then some independent legislators normally allied with the KMT also went in to pick up their ballots. Outside the Legislative Yuan, the opposition and ruling parties fought for supporters and scuffles erupted.

As for KMT legislators who ignored their party's boycott of the vote, the KMT Central Committee met to discuss the maverick legislators' fate, and decided to mete out severe punishment.

Unsuccessful in her bid for endorsement as Examination Yuan vice-president, Chang Po-ya wasn't surprised, given the low vote count. But, when asked if it was because of the political ruckus, Chang declined comment.

Commenting on the results, the Presidential Office said the outcome must be respected. After the vote, President Chen Shui-bian announced that the parties must abandon infighting, and find common ground in order to fulfill the wishes of the people.

Public opinion hopes that Yao, the first DPP member to be appointed as president of the Examination Yuan, will uphold the prerogatives and independence of the his agency, despite the DPP's preference for a three-way separation of powers (as opposed to the existing five-way separation in which the Examination Yuan is a separate branch of government). It is also to be hoped that his pro-independence views will not affect the examination system.