The Examination Yuan is the

civil service commission A civil service commission (also known as a Public Service Commission) is a government agency or public body that is established by the constitution, or by the legislature, to regulate the employment and working conditions of civil servants, overse ...

branch in charge of validating the qualification of civil servants of the

government of the Republic of China The Government of the Republic of China is the central government, national authority whose actual-controlled territory consists of Taiwan (island), main island of Taiwan (Formosa), Penghu, Kinmen, Matsu Islands, Matsu, and list of islands of ...

(

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...

). It has a

president President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

, a

vice president A vice president or vice-president, also director in British English, is an officer in government or business who is below the president (chief executive officer) in rank. It can also refer to executive vice presidents, signifying that the vi ...

, and seven to nine members, all of whom are nominated by the president of the republic and confirmed by the

Legislative Yuan The Legislative Yuan () is the unicameral legislature of the Republic of China (Taiwan) located in Taipei. The Legislative Yuan is composed of 113 members, who are directly elected for four-year terms by people of the Taiwan Area through a ...

for four-year terms according to Republic of China laws.

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

for four-year terms. The most recent 14th Examination Yuan was nominated by

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

Lai Ching-te on May 31, 2024, and all nominations except one were later confirmed by

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: * The Ministry of Examination (), which administers examinations for civil servants and contract personnel. * Ministry of Civil Service (), which oversees the pay, promotion, and retirement of civil servants. * Civil Service Protection and Training Commission (), which is responsible for training and protecting the rights of civil servants. * Public Service Pension Fund Supervisory Board ()

Offices and committees

The Examination Yuan also includes twelve offices and three committees: * Counselors * Secretariat * First Division * Second Division * Third Division * Editing and Compilation Office * Information Management Office * Secretary Office * Personnel Office * Accounting Office * Statistics Office * Civil Service Ethics Office * Petition and Appeals Committee * Legal Affairs Committee * Research and Development Committee

History

Constitutional theory

The concept of Examination Yuan is a part of the

Three Principles of the People The Three Principles of the People (), also known as the Three People's Principles, San-min Doctrine, San Min Chu-i, or Tridemism is a political philosophy developed by Sun Yat-sen as part of a philosophy to improve China during the Republi ...

formulated by

Sun Yat-sen Sun Yat-senUsually known as Sun Zhongshan () in Chinese; also known by Names of Sun Yat-sen, several other names. (; 12 November 186612 March 1925) was a Chinese physician, revolutionary, statesman, and political philosopher who founded the Republ ...

, which was enlightened by the old

Imperial examination The imperial examination was a civil service examination system in History of China#Imperial China, Imperial China administered for the purpose of selecting candidates for the Civil service#China, state bureaucracy. The concept of choosing bureau ...

system used in

Imperial China The history of China spans several millennia across a wide geographical area. Each region now considered part of the Chinese world has experienced periods of unity, fracture, prosperity, and strife. Chinese civilization first emerged in the Y ...

. It is one of the five government branches ("yuans") of the

Government of the Republic of China The Government of the Republic of China is the central government, national authority whose actual-controlled territory consists of Taiwan (island), main island of Taiwan (Formosa), Penghu, Kinmen, Matsu Islands, Matsu, and list of islands of ...

. 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 The Northern Expedition was a military campaign launched by the National Revolutionary Army (NRA) of the Kuomintang (KMT) against the Beiyang government and other regional warlords in 1926. The purpose of the campaign was to reunify China prop ...

in 1928, the

Nationalist government The Nationalist government, officially the National Government of the Republic of China, refers to the government of the Republic of China (1912–1949), Republic of China from 1 July 1925 to 20 May 1948, led by the nationalist Kuomintang (KMT ...

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 Yue Fei (; March 24, 1103 – January 28, 1142), courtesy name Pengju (), was a Chinese military general of the Song dynasty and is remembered as a patriotic folk hero, national hero, known for leading its forces in Jin–Song Wars, the wars ...

Temple in

Nanjing Nanjing or Nanking is the capital of Jiangsu, a province in East China. The city, which is located in the southwestern corner of the province, has 11 districts, an administrative area of , and a population of 9,423,400. Situated in the Yang ...

. 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 ChongqingPostal Romanization, Previously romanized as Chungking ();. is a direct-administered municipality in Southwestern China. Chongqing is one of the four direct-administered municipalities under the State Council of the People's Republi ...

during the

Second Sino-Japanese War The Second Sino-Japanese War was fought between the Republic of China (1912–1949), Republic of China and the Empire of Japan between 1937 and 1945, following a period of war localized to Manchuria that started in 1931. It is considered part ...

. After the end of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

in 1945, the headquarters was moved back to Nanjing. In January 1950, the headquarters were relocated temporarily to Taipei Confucius Temple in

after the

Chinese Civil War The Chinese Civil War was fought between the Kuomintang-led Nationalist government, government of the Republic of China (1912–1949), Republic of China and the forces of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Armed conflict continued intermitt ...

. In December 1951, the headquarters were moved to Muzha District,

Taipei , nickname = The City of Azaleas , image_map = , map_caption = , pushpin_map = Taiwan#Asia#Pacific Ocean#Earth , coordinates = , subdivision_type = Country ...

. 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 The Control Yuan is the supervisory and auditory branch of the government of the Republic of China, both during its time in mainland China and Taiwan. Designed as a hybrid of auditor and ombudsman by Taiwanese law, the Control Yuan holds th ...

to the

, and articles related to its role as a governing body of

mainland China "Mainland China", also referred to as "the Chinese mainland", is a Geopolitics, geopolitical term defined as the territory under direct administration of the People's Republic of China (PRC) in the aftermath of the Chinese Civil War. In addit ...

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 (and the

) by the

Democratic Progressive Party The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) is a centre to centre-left Taiwanese nationalist political party in Taiwan. As the dominant party in the Pan-Green Coalition, one of the two main political camps in Taiwan, the DPP is currently the ...

(DPP), the Taiwan People's Party (TPP) and

New Power Party The New Power Party (NPP) is a political party in Taiwan formed in early 2015. The party emerged from the Sunflower Student Movement in 2014, and advocates for universal human rights, civil liberties, civil and political freedom, political libe ...

(NPP). 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 The Executive Yuan () is the executive (government), executive branch of the government of the Republic of China (Taiwan). Under the Additional Articles of the Constitution of the Republic of China, amended constitution, the head of the Execut ...

, and an online poll showed about half of respondents supported its abolishment. President

Tsai Ing-wen Tsai Ing-wen (; pinyin: ''Cài Yīngwén''; born 31 August 1956) is a Taiwanese politician and legal scholar who served as the seventh president of the Republic of China (Taiwan) from 2016 to 2024. A member of the Democratic Progressive Party ...

called for the two Yuans to be abolished at the DPP national congress in 2020; the

Kuomintang The Kuomintang (KMT) is a major political party in the Republic of China (Taiwan). It was the one party state, sole ruling party of the country Republic of China (1912-1949), during its rule from 1927 to 1949 in Mainland China until Retreat ...

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 In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

confirmation. The first through eighth Examination Yuans were all confirmed by the first

, whose members first convened in 1948 and had their terms extended indefinitely. During the democratization of

in the 1990s, a series of

constitutional amendment A constitutional amendment (or constitutional alteration) is a modification of the constitution of a polity, organization or other type of entity. Amendments are often interwoven into the relevant sections of an existing constitution, directly alt ...

s known as the Additional Articles of the Constitution were promulgated to reorganize the

government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a State (polity), state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive (government), execu ...

. These amendments changed the

from a

parliament In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

chamber to a commission-type agency. Confirmation of the Examination Yuan officials was then moved to other

chambers to maintain the

separation of powers The separation of powers principle functionally differentiates several types of state (polity), state power (usually Legislature#Legislation, law-making, adjudication, and Executive (government)#Function, execution) and requires these operat ...

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

unicameral Unicameralism (from ''uni''- "one" + Latin ''camera'' "chamber") is a type of legislature consisting of one house or assembly that legislates and votes as one. Unicameralism has become an increasingly common type of legislature, making up nearly ...

— the

Presidents and vice presidents of the Examination Yuan

Notable members

* Zhang Mojun: 1st Examination Yuan * Gao Yihan: 1st Examination Yuan * Shui Zi: 1st Examination Yuan * Chang Ch'i-yun: 1st Examination Yuan * Liu Yizheng: 1st Examination Yuan * Cha Liang-chao: 2nd, 3rd and 4th Examination Yuan * Zhang Mojun: 2nd and 3rd Examination Yuan * Robert C. T. Lee: 7th Examination Yuan * Wang Tso-jung: 7th Examination Yuan * Lee Ching-hsiung: 10th Examination Yuan * Hsu Cheng-kuang: 10th Examination Yuan * Tsai Bih-hwang: 10th and 11th Examination Yuan * Huang Jun-ying: 11th Examination Yuan * Chester Chou: 12th Examination Yuan * Yao Leeh-ter: 13th Examination Yuan * Iwan Nawi: 13th and 14th Examination Yuan * Chiau Wen-yan: 14th Examination Yuan * Teng Chia-chi: 14th Examination Yuan

References

External links

Official site
{{Webarchive, url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090302174617/http://www.exam.gov.tw/ , date=March 2, 2009 National civil service commissions Government agencies established in 1930 1930 establishments in China