Examination Yuan


The Examination Yuan is the civil service commission branch in charge of validating the qualification of civil servants of the government of the Republic of China. It has a president, a President of the Examination Yuan|vice president], and seven to nine members, all of whom are nominated by the president of the republic and confirmed by the Legislative Yuan for four-year terms according to Republic of China laws.
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Organizational structure

Members composition

The Examination Yuan consists of a council with a president, a vice president, and seven to nine members. The leaders and members are nominated by the president of the republic and approved by Legislative Yuan for four-year terms. The most recent 14th Examination Yuan was nominated by President Lai Ching-te on May 31, 2024, and all nominations except one were later confirmed by Legislative Yuan on December 17, 2024. Members of the 14th Yuan were inaugurated on December 20, 2024, and their terms will expire on August 31, 2028.

Agencies

The Examination Yuan has four main agencies:

Offices and committees

The Examination Yuan also includes twelve offices and three committees:

History

Constitutional theory

The concept of Examination Yuan is a part of the Three Principles of the People formulated by Sun Yat-sen, which was enlightened by the old Imperial examination system used in Imperial China. It is one of the five government branches of the Government of the Republic of China. Practically, it operates like a ministry of the Executive Yuan, though its members may not be removed by the president or premier.

Establishment and relocation to Taiwan

After the end of Northern Expedition in 1928, the Nationalist government set up the preparatory office of the Examination Yuan in October 1928 in which the organic law was promulgated. In May 1929, the headquarters of the Examination Yuan was inaugurated at Guan Gong and Yue Fei Temple in Nanjing. In January 1930, the Examination Yuan and its subordinates Examination Committee and Ministry of Civil Service were formally established. In December 1937, the headquarters was temporarily relocated to Chongqing during the Second Sino-Japanese War. After the end of World War II in 1945, the headquarters was moved back to Nanjing.
In January 1950, the headquarters were relocated temporarily to Taipei Confucius Temple in Taiwan after the Chinese Civil War. In December 1951, the headquarters were moved to Muzha District, Taipei. In March 1990, the Yuheng Building of the Yuan was inaugurated.

Democratization

During the second revision of the Additional Articles of the Constitution in 1992, confirmation powers of its members were transferred from the Control Yuan to the Legislative Yuan, and articles related to its role as a governing body of mainland China were abolished. In 2019, the Examination Yuan was reduced from 19 members to between 7 and 9, and terms were reduced from 6 years to 4 to coincide with presidential and legislative elections.
There have been calls to abolish the Examination Yuan by the Democratic Progressive Party, the Taiwan People's Party and New Power Party. TPP caucus whip Lai Hsiang-ling stated that members of the Examination Yuan hold "fat-cat patronage appointments", whereby they earn outside income on top of their usual salary, including by teaching at universities in mainland China. Additionally, the functions of the Examination Yuan are seen as overlapping with those of the Executive Yuan, and an online poll showed about half of respondents supported its abolishment. President Tsai Ing-wen called for the two Yuans to be abolished at the DPP national congress in 2020; the Kuomintang responded by saying that it was an effort to distract from the DPP's poor leadership, but did not provide their stance on the matter. A constitutional amendment committee was formed in September of 2020 to draft proposals for the abolition of the Examination Yuan.

Terms

Appointments of the leaders and members of the Examination Yuan were carried out with presidential nomination and parliamentary confirmation. The first through eighth Examination Yuans were all confirmed by the first Control Yuan, whose members first convened in 1948 and had their terms extended indefinitely. During the democratization of Taiwan in the 1990s, a series of constitutional amendments known as the Additional Articles of the Constitution were promulgated to reorganize the government. These amendments changed the Control Yuan from a parliament chamber to a commission-type agency. Confirmation of the Examination Yuan officials was then moved to other parliament chambers to maintain the separation of powers.
TermLengthActual lengthAppointmentSeats
1st6 yearsSep 8, 1948—Aug 31, 1954Presidential nomination with
Control Yuan confirmation		19
2nd6 yearsSep 1, 1954—Aug 31, 1960Presidential nomination with
Control Yuan confirmation		19
3rd6 yearsSep 1, 1960—Aug 31, 1966Presidential nomination with
Control Yuan confirmation		19
4th6 yearsSep 1, 1966—Aug 31, 1972Presidential nomination with
Control Yuan confirmation		19
5th6 yearsSep 1, 1972—Aug 31, 1978Presidential nomination with
Control Yuan confirmation		19
6th6 yearsSep 1, 1978—Aug 31, 1984Presidential nomination with
Control Yuan confirmation		19
7th6 yearsSep 1, 1984—Aug 31, 1990Presidential nomination with
Control Yuan confirmation		19
8th6 yearsSep 1, 1990—Aug 31, 1996Presidential nomination with
Control Yuan confirmation		19
9th6 yearsSep 1, 1996—Aug 31, 2002Presidential nomination with
National Assembly confirmation		19
10th6 yearsSep 1, 2002—Aug 31, 2008Presidential nomination with
Legislative Yuan confirmation		19
11th6 yearsSep 1, 2008—Aug 31, 2014Presidential nomination with
Legislative Yuan confirmation		19
12th6 yearsSep 1, 2014—Aug 31, 2020Presidential nomination with
Legislative Yuan confirmation		19
13th4 yearsSep 1, 2020—Aug 31, 2024Presidential nomination with
Legislative Yuan confirmation		9
14th4 yearsDec 20, 2024—presentPresidential nomination with
Legislative Yuan confirmation		7

Currently, according to the Additional Articles of the Constitution, the Examination Yuan is confirmed by the now-unicameral parliament — the Legislative Yuan.

Notable members