Page 18 - 2018 OUTLINE OF THE MINISTRY OF THE INTERIOR REPUBLIC OF CHINA

MOI 2O18 OUTLINE OF THE MINISTRY OF THE INTERIOR
REPUBLIC OF CHINA (TAIWAN)

I. Civil Affairs Organization

Civil affairs are the root of public affairs. The Ministry of the Interior (MOI) is the competent authority
for Civil Affairs on behalf of the central government. The Department of Civil Affairs is in charge of
managing the various autonomous operations of local government, public productive enterprises,
political parties, elections, political donations, lobbying, religious groups, ancestor worship guild,

funeral services, national emblem and national flag, national honor and etiquette systems as well as
other civil affairs. The government bureau handling civil affairs for each special municipality, county and
city area is the Bureau of Civil Affairs or the Department of Civil Affairs. Those administrative authorities
enforce various civil policies to maintain public well-being.

II. Local Government

According to the Constitution of the ROC, the Additional Articles of the Constitution of the ROC
and the Local Government Act, the local government system is subdivided into provinces and special

municipalities with provinces further subdivided into counties and cities (hereafter referred to as counties/
cities); counties are then subdivided into townships and county-administered cities (hereafter referred to
as townships/cities). Special municipalities and cities are apportioned into districts. Townships, county-
administered cities, and districts are separated into villages while villages are zoned into neighborhoods.
In sum, there are two levels of local self-governing bodies to carry out local self-government: the first

level is special municipalities and counties/cities; the second level is townships/cities and mountain
indigenous districts of special municipalities. Currently there are six special municipalities (Taipei, New
Taipei, Taoyuan, Taichung, Tainan, and Kaohsiung), eleven counties (Yilan, Hsinchu, Miaoli, Changhua,

Nantou, Yunlin, Chiayi, Pingtung, Hualien, Taitung and Penghu) and three cities (Keelung, Hsinchu and
Chiayi) under Taiwan Province. As for Fuchien Province, there are two counties: Kinmen and Lienchiang.
Nationwide, there are 146 villages, 38 townships, 14 county-administered cities and 170 districts.

The Local Government Act amended and promulgated in 2009 regulates the changing of counties/

cities into special municipalities, as well as mergers between counties/cities and special municipalities
into new special municipalities. Following New Taipei, Taichung, Tainan and Kaohsiung's reformation
on December 25, 2010, Taoyuan became the 6th special municipality on December 25, 2014. The Local
Government Act was amended and promulgated again so that the use and practice of Article 10 of the

Additional Articles of the Constitution of the ROC guarantees the political participation of the indigenous

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