Item number: M416-1／M416-2

Year: AD 1984-present

The results after XRF testing

Material: Copper Alloy

Size: 135.0 x 58.1 x 2.0 mm (M416-1)／61.9 x 17.6 x 3.3 mm (M416-2)

Weight: 58.45 g (M416-1)／4.25 g (M416-2)

Manufactured by: Department of Minting, Central Engraving and Printing Plant

Provenance: Chang Ming-chuan Collection 2015

This is a Third-Class Service Medal of the Republic of China, instituted by the government to commend exemplary service by civil servants, together with its miniature version.

The obverse of the medal comprises three superimposed elements: the primary rays, the secondary rays, and the superimposed medallion. The primary rays consist of radiating metal beams symbolising resplendent honour, with eight broad groups of rays each separated by a short blue ray. The secondary rays are composed of eight broad red rays representing dedication, while the blue short rays between them symbolise integrity. The upper medallion consists of a blue circular field supporting a metallic plum blossom representing the state. At its centre appear the two seal-script characters “服務” (“service”), written in red and read from right to left. The blossom is encircled by twenty-four white-ground metallic human-figure motifs, representing the ideal that the purpose of life is service and the spirit of unceasing self-improvement. The overall symbolism conveys that those who receive this decoration are honoured by the state for performing meritorious service with integrity and devotion.

The circular suspension device connecting the ribbon to the medal bears, on its obverse, a hollow plum blossom enclosed within three concentric rings; its reverse is plain.

The miniature version follows the design of the full-sized medal but on a reduced scale; the ring of twenty-four human-figure motifs and the short blue rays between the eight principal rays of the primary field are omitted for simplicity.

The reverse of the medal is flat. Along the upper arc runs the seal-script inscription “三等服務獎章” (“Third-Class Service Medal”), read from right to left. Below appears the serial number “00604”; the specific recipient of this specimen has yet to be identified.

The Service Medal is divided into Special Class and First, Second, and Third Class, distinguished on the circular suspension device between the ribbon and the medal: the inscription “特等” denotes the Special Class; three plum blossoms represent the First Class; two plum blossoms the Second Class; and one plum blossom the Third Class. All classes are worn on the chest with a ribbon bar. The ribbon of the Third-Class Medal is red, with narrow blue and white stripes—blue on the inner side, white on the outer—located at one-quarter and three-quarters of the width. The Third-Class Service Medal is awarded to individuals who have served continuously for ten years, who have held a political appointment for five years, or who, upon retirement, resignation, dismissal, layoff, or death, have accumulated ten years of service.

The Regulations Governing Service Medals were established in AD 1984 (Minguo 73), forming part of the administrative reforms initiated by Chiang Ching-kuo during his tenure as Premier beginning in AD 1972 (Minguo 61) and continued after he assumed the presidency in AD 1978 (Minguo 67). These reforms aimed to strengthen the performance evaluation and rewards-and-sanctions system. As aspects of preferential benefits for civil servants were curtailed and disciplinary measures strengthened, an imbalance arose in which “rewards were disproportionately fewer than sanctions.” The establishment of the Service Medal was therefore intended “to reward integrity and competence, and to inspire a sense of responsibility and honour among public servants.”

During his presidency from AD 1978 to 1988, Chiang Ching-kuo simultaneously continued the authoritarian governing logic that had taken shape within the earlier administrative system—maintaining political stability and economic growth as core objectives, advancing industrial upgrading, technological investment, and administrative efficiency reforms—and confronted a society that, by the AD 1980s, had begun to generate substantial civic mobilisation. Extra-party political movements, labour and farmers’ movements, professional associations, and human-rights advocacy expanded across the decade, exerting sustained pressure on the existing political order. These social forces prompted adjustments in the state’s modes of governance and led to a gradual opening of public space, allowing political participation to take on more diverse forms and agendas.

The international environment also exerted notable influence. The global “third wave” of democratisation accelerated from the late AD 1970s onward, and the United States increasingly incorporated human-rights and political-liberalisation expectations into its policy toward allied states. Given the close interdependence of Taiwan–United States relations in military procurement, diplomatic support, and economic exchange, Taiwan’s political adjustments were shaped in part by external conditions. Within the administrative system, signs of internal adaptation and renewal also emerged, including improved remuneration for public employees, strengthened retirement and insurance schemes, reforms to performance evaluation and disciplinary procedures, and the appointment of greater numbers of locally born officials, bringing the composition of the state apparatus closer to that of society at large. Political relaxation in several areas—such as the organisation of opposition parties, adjustments to press and publication controls, and the gradual expansion of public discourse—was closely connected to the interaction between social mobilisation, state governance needs, and the international environment.

Taken together, the latter part of Chiang Ching-kuo’s presidency exhibited the interplay of multiple forces—political opening, administrative modernisation, and the activation of civil society. The boundary between state and society was progressively recalibrated, creating conditions that would enable Taiwan to enter its subsequent phase of democratic transition.

物件編號: M416-1／M416-2

年代: 公元 1984 年至今

XRF分析結果:

材質: 銅合金

尺寸: 135.0 x 58.1 x 2.0 mm (M416-1)／61.9 x 17.6 x 3.3 mm (M416-2)

重量: 58.45 g (M416-1)／4.25 g (M416-2)

製造地: 中央印製廠鑄製科

來源: 張明泉 2015

這是中華民國政府頒行，用以獎勵公教人員的優良服務的三等服務獎章及其迷你版。

獎章正面以三層組合，即大芒、二芒、上蓋三部分：大芒以金屬為主之光芒表示榮光四射，八組較寬的金屬光芒間各有一道藍色短芒。二芒以八組較寬的紅色光芒為主色，象徵熱忱；紅色主芒之間的藍色短芒則象徵清廉。上蓋以藍底的圓襯托金屬色的梅花代表國家，內嵌篆書「服務」兩紅字，由右向左順讀，其由二十四個白底金屬色的人字圖案環繞，表示人生以服務為目的之精神，自強不息。寓意獲此獎章者，係以清廉情操熱忱服務著有勞績，國家所頒給之殊榮。

綬帶與章體之間的圓形掛牌，正面為三道同心環中的空心梅花，背面光平無文。

迷你版之獎章正面設計與正式版幾乎相同，除大小較小外，由二十四個白底金屬色的人字圖案組成的環，以及大芒的八道主芒間的藍色短芒，均被簡略。

背面為平背，上方環列篆書「三等服務獎章」，由右向左順讀。下方為序列號「00604」，具體獲頒者待考。

服務獎章分特等、一、二、三等，並於綬帶與章體之間加製圓形掛牌；以「特等」二字代表特等，三朵梅花代表一等，二朵梅花代表二等，一朵梅花代表三等。均用襟綬別於胸前。三等獎章之綬帶為紅底，兩側四分之一及四分之三處各有一道緊併的藍色與白色細線，藍色位於內側，白色位於外側。三等服務獎章頒予連續任職滿十年或任政務職位滿五年者，或退休、退職、資遣、辭職或死亡時已任職滿十年者。

獎章條例於民國七十三年(公元1984年)設立，為蔣經國於民國六十一年(公元1972年)就任行政院長以來，直至民國六十七年(公元1978年)就任總統後，所陸續推行的行政改革的一環，旨在強化考績與獎懲制度。行政改革中，削減了公教人員的部分恩給優惠，強化懲處罰則，於是「獎勵與懲處相較，顯失平衡」，所以設立此獎章，「獎勵廉能，並激發公務人員的責任心與榮譽感」。

在公元1978至1988年的總統任期內，蔣經國一方面延續了自早年行政體系所形成的威權治理邏輯，維持政治穩定與經濟成長的核心目標，推動產業升級、科技投資與行政效率改革；另一方面，臺灣社會在公元1980年代逐漸出現強大的民間動員，包括黨外運動、工運、農運、專業團體與人權倡議的擴張，形成了對既有體制的持續壓力。這些社會力量促使國家在治理方式上調整節奏，並逐步釋放公共空間，使政治參與的形式與議題更加多元。

國際環境亦帶來顯著影響。全球第三波民主化在公元1970年代起加速展開，美國對盟友的政策中對人權與政治開放的要求逐漸提高，臺美關係在軍售、外交支持與經貿往來等層面具有高度連動，使臺灣的政治調整受到外部因素的牽引。行政體制內部也展現出調整與更新的方向，包括提升公教待遇、強化退休與保險制度、改革考績與獎懲制度，以及任用更多本省籍官員，使國家機器的組成更貼近社會結構。政治層面上的若干鬆動，例如反對黨的組織化、新聞與出版管制的調整及公共言論空間的逐步擴張，與社會動員、國家治理需求及國際環境的互動密切相關。

整體而言，蔣經國總統任期的後期呈現出政治開放、行政現代化與社會活化多股動力交互作用的局面，國家與社會之間的邊界在逐步重新調整，並形成臺灣進入後續民主化階段的重要條件。