Dismantling the Government: The reorganisation reform of Taiwan's central government (1987 - 2008)

Abstract

In order to confront the dual challenge of a complex governance environment and a fiscal crisis, the Taiwan government has followed in the footsteps of many Western nations in advocating government reform. Over the past two decades, the reorganisation of the Executive Yuan (Central Government) has been implemented over several ruling governments of either the KMT or the DDP parties, and under the ruling of two presidents and several premiers of the Executive Yuan. In contrast to the reform experiences in Western countries, Taiwan has its own distinctive historical legacy, and it has experienced transition from a party-state regime to a democratic regime. These factors have significantly influenced the progress of reform work. This paper aims to expand the current understanding of the factors that have led to reform failure in Taiwan between 1987 and 2008. Key words: Administrative reform, reorganisation of the executive Yuan, governance capacity, reinventing government.