A delegation of high-ranking military officers from Central and South America visited the Control Yuan (CY) on the afternoon of October 14, 2015. The delegates joined a discussion with CY President Chang Po-ya to learn more of the unique supervision system in Taiwan.
In her opening remarks, President Chang briefly introduced the functions and achievements of the CY. She noted that the CY receives as many as 1,000 or so citizen complaints every month. Despite the heavy workload, the CY handles these complaints to effectively practice the checks-and-balances against the executive branch, rectify administrative wrongdoings, and ensure human rights protection.
President Chang added that the CY is also in charge of enforcing the regulations of the Sunshine Acts. High-ranking government officials are required to report their personal assets to the CY regularly. The CY shall also verify any political donations received by political parties, groups and candidates. She noted that transparency is the best policy to avoid corruption.
During the discussion, the delegates posed many questions concerning practical matters, including the handling of complaints and impeachment cases, limits on political donations, and supervision of CY members. They also asked if the CY can impeach the ROC President.
At the close of meeting, the chief delegate, Major General Teresa Martínez Hernández from Dominican Republic, thanked the CY for its hospitality on behalf of the delegation, saying ‘thank you’ in Mandarin. She praised the importance of the CY’s work. She also hoped for enduring friendship between Taiwan and the Central America, and closed her remarks by saying ‘long live Taiwan’ in Spanish.
The delegation consisted of participants of the 2015 National Development Spanish Course for High-Ranking Military Officers. They were accompanied by the Executive Officer of the National Defense University Colonel Ni Pang-chen during the visit to the CY. Also attending the meeting were CY Vice President Sun Ta-chuan, CY Secretary-General Fu Meng-jung, and CY Deputy Secretary-General Hsu Hai-chuan.