A delegation of 27 high-ranking chiefs of the Army, Navy and Air Force from Central and South America visited the Control Yuan and met Yuan President Wang Chien-shien on October 12, 2011. Vice-Secretary General Hsu Hai-chuan was also present for the occasion. The main purpose of the visit was to further understand the control system and its role in the R.O.C. government.
In his welcoming remarks, President Wang indicated that compared with the West’s typical three-power division system of government, the R.O.C. utilizes a five-power system consisting of executive, legislative, judicial, examination and control branches. The unique feature of this system is that the control branch, unlike Western models, is separate from the legislative branch and stands independent amid the executive and legislative branches. President Wang also mentioned that the main mission of the Control Yuan is to propose corrective measures to the executive organs regarding incidents of misconduct. With the exception of the President and the Vice President of the nation, the Control Yuan has the power to propose censure or impeachment of any public servant. If a public servant is investigated and found to be involved in corruption or other criminal acts, the case is transferred to the judicial system.
The Q&A session saw very eager participation by the delegation members, who posed numerous questions ranging from the qualifications of Control Yuan members, disclosure of findings in the investigation of a case related to national security or confidentiality, and whether there is a supervisory body to oversee the Control Yuan, to the average amount of cases investigated per year and the level of efficiency in operations. These issues were all discussed with a great deal of interest, and at the end of the meeting, the leader of the delegation, Mr. Ocampo from Colombia, represented all members in expressing their appreciation for the warm reception by the Control Yuan. He noted that they genuinely expect the Yuan to do its best to supervise the government and maximize the effectiveness of every public servant and government department and agency, and to meet the people’s highest expectations for the government.