The 1989 central government budget is currently being reviewed by the Legislative Yuan. Some members, pointing out that expenditures on education, science, and culture make up just 13.7 percent of the total budget and thus fall short of the minimal fifteen percent stipulated by Article 164 of the Constitution, hold that the budget "violates the Constitution." True, it does--from the standpoint of numbers. But from the standpoint of public policy, the constitutionality of the budget can be viewed at a deeper level. Over the course of its development during the past forty-some years, the R.O.C. has consistently maintained constitutionality as a goal of its policies, but not all of its policies have been able to conform to the stipulations of the Constitution in all places. The situation is one of maladjustment produced by the development of the nation and its public policies, and the debate over educational, scientific, and cultural expenditures in the budget is only one obvious case.

The crux of the problem lies in the budget formulation process. In essence, the budget process should adhere to four fundamental principles. It should:

1. conform to the needs of national security and the present level of the nation's political development.

2. balance the government's priorities for resource allocation with the demands of the Constitution.

3. cultivate and support social forces for political development.

4. provide an evaluation of the administration's policymaking and executive performance.

These four principles are closely related to the ideals of national development and public policy. We must satisfy the needs of the present stage of national development on the one hand and meet the standards of implementing public policy on the other. Only then will the budget process serve to realize the goals of the nation. Bearing this concept in mind, I would evaluate the four principles as follows:

1. At its present stage of political development the R.O.C. faces two important tasks: one is realizing democratization and the other is expanding its mainland policy. Both must be founded on safeguarding the public sense of security. That is why national security is the item in the national budget that must receive greatest consideration. National security is the top priority.

2. The most fundamental fact of budget formulation is that the government's work exceeds its resources, and so choices must be made to achieve the nation's goals. The goals that the government emphasizes are those of the present stage of development, and they often do not conform to the laws or stipulations of the Constitution. That expenditures for education, science, and culture failed to reach fifteen percent of the budget over the past forty years is understandable, I think, but now that our economic has developed as successfully as it has, we should direct our efforts toward meeting the goal of constitutional stipulations.

3. Obtaining public support for the nation's goals is an important part of the political process. Because the Nationalist Party has been the ruling party for the past forty-some years, many social organizations have party ties. Now that the economy has prospered as much as it has, some organizations that have relied on government aid in the past can become financially self-sufficient, and the government should move in that direction.

4. Evaluating the administration's performance through budget review is an important part of the political process in advanced Western countries. Our legislative bodies lack suitable mechanisms structurally to understand the problems of our huge administrative structure. I think that they should examine and realign themselves so that they can monitor administrative agencies more ably and effectively.

The four principles noted above are aimed at enabling the budget review process to meet the goals of national development and public policy. The R.O.C. is still a developing country, however, with limited resources and a pressing agenda. Our budget review process cannot completely follow the form of the developed countries, and we must bear this in mind when thinking about the question of budget review.