Ministry of Public Affairs (Themiclesia)
| 尚書民部 djang-shja-tsar'-ghju'-mjon-bo' | |
| Ministry overview | |
|---|---|
| Formed | time immemorial |
| Jurisdiction | internal affairs, public order |
| Headquarters | Embassy Building, Kien-k'ang |
| Employees | 32,210 |
| Minister responsible |
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| Deputy Ministers responsible |
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| Parent Ministry | Cabinet |
| Child agencies |
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The Ministry of Public Affairs (尚書民部, djang-st'ja-mjon-bou') is the primary cabinet-level government agency of Themiclesia dealing with internal administration, public order, resources, and environmental conservation. Due to its large number of subordinate departments, the structure within the Ministry-proper is comparatively modest and few in functional staff, though policy power is concentraed at the ministerial level. The subordinate departments discharge their functions mainly under the guidance of senior civil servants following Cabinet and ministerial policy. The MPA is sometimes thought of as being a "junk drawer" of ministries, since its portfolio is rather diverse and not always clearly connected. Nevertheless, the head of this body occupies a senior place in the government, often placed after the prime ministers.
History
The Ministry of Public Affairs has no definite origin in Themiclesian history, as it is an evolutionary outcome of the set of officers that developed around a ministerial position, that of the Minister of Left People. This position existed in Menghe before the first Menghean settlers founded Themiclesia, and, in the most likely scenario, its portfolio was transplanted thereto when Themiclesian acquired its own institutional, bureaucratic government. Nevertheless, the Ministry itself, as distinct from its subordinate bodies, has only existed in modern form since the 19th Century, when the webwork of officers under the customary remit of the Minister was statutorily brought under his authority.
Functions
Department of Domestic Affairs
The Department of Domestic Affairs (戶政曹) is responsible for general administration in a broad sense. It maintains the Domestic Records that functions as a tab on each administrative household, and each Themiclesian is always in one; the Domestic Records enable the government to analyze the public with both scope and resolution. Within the tab on each household, a record is made for the entry and removal of each member; one is entered when born into a household (by default, that of one's parents') and removed when one dies or moves into another household, whether by marriage or some other reason. By tracing the movement of an individual through households and his relationship with its members, his personal history can be reconstructed, and himself connected to a vast network of other individuals, who in turn are connected likewise to still more individuals. Able to understand the circumstances around each individual, the government thus attempts to adjust its policies for as many groups as possible, avoiding iniquitous results and unreasonable burdens on social or economic minorities that may otherwise be overlooked, and this has been cited as one reason behind the social cohesion and tranquility that has characterized Themiclesia since the late 19th Century. For this reason, this department has been billed as the "bridge between the government and governed" and the "very foundation of government". Nevertheless, the maintenance of such a database is one of significant expense, and for concerns over privacy, it is not without its detractors.
Department of Land Administration
The Department of Land Affairs (地政曹) is responsible for land surveying and the maintenance of land title records. By extension, it is also heavily invovled in the calculation of land taxation, since it archives data relative to all land ownership in the country. Even though urban planning is a local government portfolio, the DLA can become involved if multiple competing interests, particularly between government agencies, both lay claim to priority in using or expropriating a given piece of land. In determining the amount of land tax to levy from each title, the DLA also assesses its value internally; the title holder is responsible for reporting its value to the tax authorities, who actually collect the taxes, though if an evaluation is suspected of being too low, the DLA may be consulted for the value of comparable titles in the vicinity.
Department of Police Administration
The Superintendency of Police Services (警政監) governs the various law enforcement agencies in Themiclesia. Each prefecture is responsible for organizing its own police forces, under broad guidelines issued by the SPS, over matters such as staff quota, equipment, performance assessment, remuneration, and recruitment. The SPS itself does not conduct or organize police operations, though individual police services are required by law to give information about their activities to the SPS periodically, and this information is analyzed by the SPS to deduce possible improvements to the police services and monitor misconduct. The SPS does conduct internal investigations to prevent the latter and penalize offenders, and senior officials amongst the police services are subject to annual appraisals by the SPS.
Department of Border Administration
The Department of Border Administration (疆界曹) controls ingress and egress from Themiclesia's borders, most visibly at points of access such as airports, harbours, and highway crossings, but also at other sections of the border. Other than the westernmost portion of the border with Maverica, Themiclesia's other borders are located in remote and sparsely-populated regions, often attended by harsh climate and terrain, and policing them has proven a fiscal and technical challenge to the DBA; helicopters have recently been imported from the Organized States so that each officer may patrol a larger area and remain safe from threats as wild animals, hypothermia, and dehydration. The DBA is functionally separate from the Customs Service, which is under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Finance.
Department of Judicial Administration
The Department of Judicial Administration (律政曹) is responsible for the supporting the nation's legal system by the provision of resources (to th exclusion of resources of a judicial character, which is under the jurisdiction of the courts themselves), the maintenance of a public prosecution service, and administration of penal and civil decisions.
Department of Environmental Protection
A relatively new body, the Department of Environmental Protection was created in 1970 in response to growing concerns over the abuse of pesticides and over-extraction of subterranean water, lumber, and certain minerals. These matters were formerly administered under several central and local government offices, and upon the elaboration of environmentalism and related academic which connected these concerns, these authorities were merged into the DEP. The DEP today monitors pollution, deforestation, desertification, biodiversity, ecosystem imbalances, pesticide use, development impact on the environment, and a multitude of other matters. The agency exercises considerable power in sanctioning permissible land use, and this has brought it into close contact with the DLA.