With respect to the police system, the central government shall exercise the power of legislation and administration, or may delegate the power of administration to the provincial and hsien governments, pursuant to Article 108, Paragraph 1, Subparagraph 17, of the Constitution. For the matters over which the central government delegates the power of administration to the provincial or hsien governments, the central government shall cover such matters in its own budget according to the legal procedures. Therefore, the provincial or hsien governments shall not repeatedly set budgets for the same matters. However, pursuant to Article 109, Paragraph 1, Subparagraph 10, and Article 110, Paragraph 1, Subparagraph 9, of the Constitution, the provincial government has jurisdiction over the administration of provincial police, while hsien governments have jurisdiction over hsien police and security. Therefore, the provincial or hsien governments shall cover such matters in the budget according to the legal procedures. In the event of any shortfall, the provincial government may apply with the central government, and the hsien government may apply with the provincial government, for subsidy according to Article 16, Paragraph 2, of the Police Law.

       This issue is related to the interpretation of the jurisdictional dispute arising from the matters provided in Articles 108 to 110 of the Constitution. No judicial review for constitutionality is involved herein.

       With respect to the police system, the central government shall exercise the power of legislation and administration, or may delegate the power of administration to the provincial and hsien governments, pursuant to Article 108, Paragraph 1, Subparagraph 17, of the Constitution. For the matters over which the central government delegates the power of administration to the provincial or hsien governments, the central government shall cover such matters in its own budget according to the legal procedures. Therefore, the provincial or hsien governments shall not set budgets for the same matters.

       With respect to the provincial police matters, the provincial government shall exercise the power of legislation and administration, or may delegate the power of administration to the hsien governments, pursuant to Article 109, Paragraph 1, Subparagraph 10, of the Constitution. Furthermore, the hsien governments shall exercise the power of legislation and administration over the hsien police and security, pursuant to Article 110, Paragraph 1, Subparagraph 9, of the Constitution. Since the provincial and hsien governments have jurisdiction over the administration of their police security, respectively, the provincial and hsien governments shall cover such matters in the budget according to legal procedures. Nevertheless, the administration of certain provincial or hsien police matters requires nationwide consistency and involves the jurisdiction of the central government. Therefore, Article 16, Paragraph 1, of the Police Law, which was enacted by the central government under Article 108, Paragraph 1, Subparagraph 17, of the Constitution, provides that “the central government shall stipulate the budget standard for local police agencies according to the conditions of the respective areas.” This is the standard by which the provincial and hsien governments set the expenditure budget for the police administration. In the event of any shortfall, the provincial government may apply with the central government, and the hsien government may apply with the provincial government, for subsidy according to Article 16, Paragraph 2, of the Police Law. While the local governments may not use the subsidies other than for the designated purpose, the provincial and hsien councils may monitor the allocation of such subsidies according to the law.

*Translated by Pijan Wu.