The civil service serves all citizens, and the use and distribution of public resources to do so are based on public trust. To reduce the waste of public resources and abuse of official power, the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) endeavors to establish a basis for ethics of government public services, while the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Anti-Corruption and Transparency Working Group recommends that Members develop and implement regulations governing the conduct of civil servants and monitor their implementation. These initiatives underscore that respect and concern for public service ethics have become an international trend and a goal to which advanced countries aspire.

To ensure that civil servants when performing their duties, are honest, impartial, selfless, and law-abiding, and to enhance public trust in and support for the government, and taking reference from public servant conduct standards of the United States, Japan, Singapore, and other countries, and from its own Well-formed Government Ethics Program, the Executive Yuan lays down the following Integrity and Ethics Directions for Civil Servants (the "Code"):

1.        This Code aims to manifest the purpose and the core values of legislation, and express the norms that all civil servants serving in the Yuan and its subordinate organs/organizations shall adhere to. (Point 1)

2.        This Code defines terms such as "civil servants", "having vested interests in civil servants’ official duties", "Standard limit on normal courtesy gratuities", "Ceremonial protocol in the conduct of official duties" and "requests for making an intercession". (Point 2)

3.        This Code emphasizes that civil servants shall serve the public interest in accordance with the law, and avoid conflicts of interest for the sake of the public interest (Point 3).

4.        It lays down clear standards for civil servants to follow with regard to restrictions on accepting valued gifts, invitations to dinner, entreating or lobbying, and the handling procedures in the event that one encounters attempts to secure requests for making an intercession. (Point 4 to point 10)

5.        The registration process when Government Employee Ethics Units at all levels handle cases of accepting valued gifts, invitations to dinner, requests for requests for making an intercession, and other conduct affecting government ethics. (Point 11)

6.        Reaffirms the principle that it is prohibited for civil servants to have concurrent servings. (Point 12)

7.        Standards, restrictions, and procedures for remunerations for presentations and articles provided by civil servants (Point 13).

8.        Procedures for heads of agencies to follow when they encounter accepting valued gifts, invitations to dinner, for requests for making an intercession. (Point 14)

9.        Civil servants shall handle their personal finances properly, and supervisors shall assess their propriety. (Point 15)

10.      Each organ/organization shall designate a person responsible for ethical advice and define "next higher-level Government Employee Ethics Units " and "next higher-level organ". (Point 16)

11.      When an organ/organization does not have a Government Employee Ethics Units, the latter’s duties are performed by personnel concurrently assigned government ethics businesses or by personnel designated by the former’s head. (Point 17)

12.      Violations of the Code are penalized in accordance with the provisions current at the time of the violation. Matters with potential criminal liability are transferred to the judiciary organ for handling. (Point 18)

13.      Authorized organs/organizations may set more stringent standards or additional ethical norms in addition to this Code. (Point 19)

14.      Other central and local organs/organizations may also use this Code. (Point 20)