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U.S. Health and Welfare Officials, Scholars Visit CY for Better Understanding of ROC's Supervision System

  • PostDate:2018-05-18

A delegation of six high-ranking American health and welfare officials and scholars visited the Control Yuan on May 11, 2018. The delegation, which is in Taiwan at the invitation of the Ministry of Health and Welfare, was accompanied by Yang Chih-ching, director-general of the Ministry’s Department of Planning, as well as Chang Yu-hsuan, director of the National Health Insurance Administration’s Planning Division.
CY President Chang Po-ya and Deputy Secretary-General Hsu Hai-chuan received the visiting dignitaries. They engaged in an open and friendly discussion, during which the visitors expressed admiration for the ROC’s unique constitutional system.
Prior to the discussion, the delegation learned more about the procedures for receiving complaints with a visit to the Complaint Receipt Center. Through a guided tour of the display room and the plenary meeting hall, they were given a glimpse into the long history of the supervision system and had the opportunity to view the CY building’s architecture, for which they voiced much praise.
After extending a warm welcome, President Chang briefed the visitors on the CY’s functions and powers. She mentioned that the five-power constitutional system was designed by the ROC’s founding father, Dr. Sun Yat-sen. Compared with the three-branch system of government in most Western countries, the five-branch system provides stronger checks and balances, she said, adding that as a formal branch of government enshrined in the Constitution, the CY has a more powerful position than other ombudsman institutions around the world. She also noted that International Ombudsman Institute Secretary General Günther Kräuter stated during a visit to Taiwan in 2015 that among the IOI’s more than 180 members, the CY provides the best checks and balances and is therefore a worthy reference for other countries.
During the discussion, the visitors asked a wide range of questions about the CY, such as concerning the appointment process for CY members, exercise of the power of impeachment, disciplinary actions against those impeached, handling of asset declarations, and so on. Dr. Celeste Philip, surgeon general and secretary of the Florida Department of Health, specifically asked about the personal safety of CY members, inquiring whether they are ever threatened when exercising their impeachment power.
Besides personally responding to the various questions, President Chang also pointed out that the CY handles numerous health and welfare-related issues. For instance, the CY has issued more than 30 investigation reports and proposed about a dozen corrective measures against government agencies on food safety-related issues.
For his part, Deputy Secretary-General Hsu noted that the CY is very meticulous in exercising its power of impeachment, pointing out that all but two of the more than 100 public servants it has impeached under the current term have received disciplinary action by the Judicial Yuan’s Commission on the Disciplinary Sanctions of Functionaries.
In addition to Florida’s surgeon general, the delegation included Texas Department of State Health Services Commissioner John Hellerstedt, California Department of Social Services Director William Lightbourne, Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services CEO Courtney Phillips, and Duke University Policy and Organizational Management Program Director Pikuei Tu and Co-Director Cheryl Lin.