The distinction between political appointees and merit-based employees was first seen in UK and was emulated by other democratic countries ever after. There is also a similar distinction between political appointees and merit-based employees in the civil service system in our country. We have a complete and deliberative legal system for merit-based employees, however, there is only the current "Political Appointee Termination Pay Act" when concerning the legal system for political appointees. Matters on the scope, appointment and dismissal, pay, rights and obligations of political appointees are either being seen in related regulations, or even not being prescribed in any regulations, therefore, confusion and difficulty occurs frequently while carrying out those regulations. In order to keep accordance with our nation's democratic development and to establish a reasonable political appointee legal system, the Ministry of Civil Service has collected related information from UK, USA, German, and Japan, invited relevant organizations, scholars, and specialists to discuss and provide opinions, referenced from the current regulations and considered the custom and need of our nation, so as to set up drafts of "Political Appointee Act", "Political Appointee Pay Statue" and "Political Appointee Termination & Survivor Relief Statue". All these acts and statues have been submitted to the Exam Yuan and thereafter been delivered to the Legislative Yuan. However, none of them are completed in the legislative process so far.
The relevant personnel acts and regulations mentioned above are not quite concordant with the "Political Appointee Position System Proposal" which is discussed and approved by the Special-Performance Personnel System Research Division of the Government Reform Commission. For example, there are one act and two statues in the structure of political appointee legal system planned by the Exam Yuan, whereas the structure planned by the said proposal provides three acts and one statue. It shall be a must-discussed issue to think of a way to integrate the two structures and build up a practical system that maintains the original spirit and goal of the proposal. After further research on issues such as legal structure, implement scope, behavior regulation, administrative neutrality, pay scale and termination and survivor relief, the Ministry of Civil Service has made up a question list of political appointee legal system and asked for opinions from other organizations. We have also invited the Central Personnel Administrative of the Executive Yuan and other central and local organizations to held a meeting and then obtained consensus. A meeting chaired by President Yao of the Exam Yuan on the theme of how the Exam Yuan accommodate the "Proposal For Flexible Employment Of Government Manpower" has achieved some conclusions on "political appointee position system" and "high-ranking administrative supervisory position system". The Ministry of Civil Service then designed and amended the "Political Appointee Act", "Political Appointee Pay Statue" and "Political Appointee Termination Pay Statue" by referring the conclusions above. The three acts and statues have been submitted to the Exam Yuan and one of which, the "Political Appointee Act", has been reviewed by the across-field panels of the Exam Yuan for four times. It will be delivered to the Legislative Yuan after the review process of the Exam Yuan has been completed.
A clear distinction between political appointees and merit-based employees as well as a two-dimension personnel management system has been set up in our Ministry's newly amended political appointee acts and statues that are made to carrying out the "Flexible Employment Of Government Manpower Proposal" which is approved by the Government Reform Commission. It will contribute immensely in establishing our nation's political appointee personnel system and realizing democratic and responsible politics if the whole planning could be finally completed the legislative process.