The Ministry of Transportation and Communications (MOTC; Chinese: 交通部; pinyin: Jiāotōngbù; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: Kau-thong-pō͘) is a cabinet-level governmental body of the Republic of China (Taiwan), in charge of all policy and regulation of transportation and communications networks and administration of all transportation and communications operations and enterprises in Taiwan.
The Ministry of Transportation and Communications in its current form can be traced back to the post-WWII merger of two earlier ministries, namely the earlier iteration of the Ministry of Communications of the ROC (founded in 1912 by the Beiyang government to succeed the former Ministry of Posts and Communications of the later Qing Dynasty), and the Communications Department of the Transportation Bureau of the Governor-General of Taiwan.
Until 2006, the MOTC was also responsible for regulating Taiwan's broadcasting and telecommunications sector, as well as said country's frequency allocations and spectrum management, when that function was split off into a new statutory body called the National Communications Commission.
In Taiwan, transportation and communications operations comprise four categories: communications, transportation, meteorology, and tourism. The Ministry of Transportation and Communications is responsible for making policy, formulating laws and regulations, and overseeing operations in the area of transportation and communications.
Communications operations encompass postal services and telecommunications. Postal services are managed by the Chunghwa Post. Regarding telecommunications, the MOTC is responsible for the overall planning of communications resources, assisting and promoting the communications industry, and fostering universal access to communications.
Transportation operations are divided into land, sea, and air transportation.
Land transportation comprises railways (including conventional railways, mass rapid transit, and high-speed rail) as well as highway transportation. Conventional railways is operated by the Taiwan Railways Administration. Mass rapid transit systems are managed by local governments. High-speed rail is managed by the Taiwan High Speed Rail. Highway transportation is managed by the Directorate General of Highways. Expressways are constructed and maintained by the Freeway Bureau.
Sea transportation consists of water transport and harbors. Shipping carriers of water transport are privately operated, while harbors are operated by the Taiwan International Ports Corporation.
Air transportation includes airline companies and airports. Airline companies are privately operated, while airports and flight navigation services are operated by the Civil Aeronautics Administration.
The Central Weather Bureau under this ministry handles all national meteorological operations.
The Tourism Bureau under this ministry provides planning and oversight for tourism development.
The administrators of MOTC include the Minister, Executive Vice Minister, and two Administrative Deputy Ministers.
MOTC is divided into an Internal Division and an External Division.
Secretariat, Office of Technical Superintendents, Office of Counselors, Department of General Affairs, Department of Personnel, Department of Civil Service Ethics, Department of Accounting, Department of Statistics, Legal Affairs Committee, Petition Reviewing Committee, Road Traffic Safety Committee, Office of Science and Technology Advisors, Information Management Center, Transportation Mobilization Committee, Department of Railways and Highways, Department of Posts and Telecommunications, Department of Navigation and Aviation, Transportation and Communications Management Unit.[1]
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Political party: Kuomintang Non-partisan/ unknown Democratic Progressive Party
In the latter half of the 20th century, the ministry was created by merging the separate ministries of Transportation (c. 1912), Communications (c. 1938), and Railways (c. 1928 replacing the earlier iteration of the Ministry of Communications and links to the Ministry of Posts and Communications of Imperial China).
The MOTC building is accessible by walking distance North West of Dongmen Station of the Taipei Metro on the Red Line.[5]
