The Executive Yuan

As introduced by the Yearbook of the Republic of China:

The Executive Yuan has a president, usually referred to as the premier of the ROC; a vice premier; a number of ministers and chairpersons of commissions; and five to seven ministers without portfolio. The premier is appointed by the President of the Republic. If the premier resigns or if his office becomes vacant, office functions are temporarily exercised by the vice premier. The vice premier, ministers, and chairpersons are appointed by the President of the Republic on the recommendation of the premier.

In addition to supervising the operations of the various subordinate agencies of the Executive Yuan, the premier is also responsible for the following: performing the duties of the President of the Republic in the event of vacancies in both the presidency and the vice presidency (limited to three months); presenting administrative policies and reports to the Legislature and responding, either orally or in writing, to the interpellations of legislators; countersigning laws and decrees promulgated by the President of the Republic; and requesting, with the approval of the President, the Legislative Yuan to reconsider its resolutions.

Executive Yuan Council

The Executive Yuan Council is a policymaking organization, which consists of the premier, who presides over its meetings, the vice premier, ministers without portfolio, the heads of the ROC's eight ministries, and the heads of the Mongolian and Tibetan Affairs Commission and the Overseas Chinese Affairs Commission. According to Article 58 of the Constitution, the council evaluates statutory and budgetary bills and bills concerning martial law, amnesty, declarations of war, conclusion of peace or treaties, and other important affairs, which are to be submitted to the Legislature, as well as matters of common concern to the various ministries and commissions. The council may invite heads of other Executive Yuan organizations to attend council meetings and answer any questions that may arise pertaining to affairs under their jurisdiction. The secretary-general and the deputy secretary-general also attend the meetings but cannot vote.

Ministries and Other Organizations

There are eight ministries under the Executive Yuan: Interior, Foreign Affairs, National Defense, Finance, Education, Justice, Economic Affairs, and Transportation and Communications.

Four important organizations under the Executive Yuan are: the Mongolian and Tibetan Affairs Commission, the Overseas Chinese Affairs Commission, Directorate General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics, and the Government Information Office. In addition, a number of commissions and subordinate organizations have been formed with the resolution of the Executive Yuan council and the Legislature to meet new demands and handle new affairs. These include the National Palace Museum, the Department of Health, the Council for Economic Planning and Development, the Veterans Affairs Commission, the National Youth Commission, the National Science Council, the Council of Agriculture, the Council for Cultural Affairs, and the Council of Labor Affairs. Other examples include the Environmental Protection Administration, which was set up in 1987; the Mainland Affairs Council, which was established in 1990 to handle the relations between Taiwan and China; the Fair Trade Commission, which was established in 1992 to promote a fair trade system; and the Consumer Protection Commission, which was set up in July 1994 to study and review basic policies on consumer protection.

Since 1995, additional commissions have been set up to provide a wider scope of services: the Public Construction Commission was set up in July 1995, the Council of Indigenous Peoples in December 1996, the National Council on Physical Fitness and Sports in July 1997, the Coast Guard Administration in January 2000, and the Council for Hakka Affairs in June 2000.

The Financial Supervisory Commission under the Executive Yuan was established on July 1, 2004. It is tailored to meet the changing needs of Taiwan's financial markets, particularly following passage of the Financial Holding Company Act in June 2001. This new government agency functions as the unitary body responsible for financial affairs relating to life insurance, securities and futures, and banking, as well as for supervision of financial institutions that were once under the auspices of the Central Bank and the Ministry of Finance.

In accordance with the File Act promulgated by the ROC President on December 15, 1999, the National Archives Administration was placed under the authority of the Executive Yuan's Research, Development, and Evaluation Commission on November 23, 2001. The new organization formulates laws and policies on file management and assists all government agencies in managing their files.

Relationship with the Legislative Yuan

The Executive Yuan presents the Legislative Yuan with an annual policy statement and an administrative report. When the Legislative Yuan is in session, its members have the right to interpellate the premier, ministers, and chairpersons of commissions of the Executive Yuan.

If the Legislative Yuan disagrees with an important policy of the Executive Yuan, it may, by resolution, request the Executive Yuan to alter it. The Executive Yuan may, with the approval of the president of the Republic, request the Legislature's reconsideration. If after reconsideration one-half of the attending members of the Legislative Yuan uphold the original resolution, the premier must either abide by the resolution or resign from office. Similar procedures apply, if the Executive Yuan considers a resolution on a statutory, budgetary, or treaty bill passed by the Legislative Yuan difficult to execute. The Executive Yuan shall, three months prior to the end of each fiscal year, present to the Legislative Yuan the budgetary bill for the following fiscal year.

With the signatures of more than one-third of the total number of legislators, the Legislative Yuan may propose a no-confidence vote against the premier. Seventy-two hours after the no-confidence motion is made, an open-ballot vote must be taken within 48 hours. Should more than one-half of the total number of Legislative Yuan members approve the motion, the premier must resign from office within ten days and at the same time may request that the President dissolve the Legislative Yuan. Should the no-confidence motion fail, the Legislative Yuan may not initiate another no-confidence motion against the same premier for one year.