L4

Spring 2004 L4
Lecture 4
The Civil Service
(A)Basic Principles of the Operation of the Civil Service in the West
(a) Political neutrality( 政治中立 )—civil servants should only be responsible for
implementation of policy. They should be value-neutral, their own political beliefs
should not affect their work, and their positions should not be affected because of
political changes.
(b) Civil servants are guaranteed life tenure (
終身聘用
), so that they can be impartial (
公
正無私 ) and do not have to fear political pressures.
(c) Bureaucratic (
科層
) operation—strict hierarchy, with subordinates obeying the
superior. Detailed division of labor and specialization.
(d) Tasks are clearly defined by written rules. Civil servants have to work according to
clear written rules and regulations in an impersonal manner.
(e) Civil servants are on a fixed and structured salary scale. They have relatively good
fringe benefits, good retirement benefits, and job security. This will help to attract
talent and encourage civil servants to be incorrupt and work according to the rules.
(B) The Generalist Dominated System
 The 11 bureaus (
決策局
) are responsible for policy-making in their respective areas.
They will also oversee implementation and be accountable for the results. Each
bureau controls several departments( 署 ), about 60 in total, which are responsible for
execution of the policies.
 The bureaus are staffed by administrative officers (AOs)(
政務官
) —who are the core
and cream of the bureaucratic polity. About 500 AOs assisted the POAS officials in
decision-making. They are generalists who have all-rounded knowledge but not
specialist knowledge, and good at language and presentation skills.