The Ministry of Justice Investigation Bureau has been pushing for a security act, which has led to a discussion about the bureau’s focus. At this critical time, the bureau is trying to redefine its function. If a security act is passed, the bureau could direct or even take over national security, placing it in a role filled by the National Security Bureau (NSB) before its functions were legally regulated. The Investigation Bureau would be above all government agencies, as a security act would give it special investigative powers placing it above prosecutors and perhaps making it untouchable.
The Investigation Bureau has acted as an intelligence and counterintelligence agency, and under NSB leadership it carried out political investigations and prevention functions with military intelligence agencies, Taiwan Garrison Command and others.
After martial law was lifted, the Garrison Command was abolished, followed by the regulation of the NSB and the gradual weakening of intelligence agencies’ duties. During this time, the Investigation Bureau’s intelligence and counterintelligence duties were also diminished, but not abolished, nor was it integrated into a government bureaucracy like the NSB, because the Investigation Bureau was also tasked with eliminating corruption, drugs and financial crimes.
At about the same time as the establishment of the civil service ethics offices, ethics officers and investigators frequently changed between the agencies. Before the Agency Against Corruption was established, the Investigation Bureau was the main agency working against corruption, and the ethics office cooperated with their efforts. The Investigation Bureau was politically favored and trusted, but as times have changed, it is no longer tasked with these duties.
Given this, it is understandable that the Investigation Bureau would want to return to “the good old days.” However, this would not be as simple as it once was: Taiwan is a democratic society built on the free flow of information.
If the security act is passed, the Investigation Bureau would become powerful and supervisory mechanisms would need to be rebuilt, which could result in imbalances.
Judging by the organization, the expertise of investigators, the generous subsidies for judicial personnel and the flexible nature of the job, there are great possibilities. If the Investigation Bureau returns to its old ways, it would not enjoy public support and there might even be people within the bureau who are unwilling to support it. This is why it would be better for the bureau to focus on drug and financial criminal activities. If illicit drugs continue to be distributed unchecked, it will shake the nation.
News that personnel at the Ching Chuan Kang Air Base in Taichung tested positive for drugs made headlines for several days, but the government has yet to issue a statement. This is because Taiwan does not have a dedicated agency working against illicit drug crimes.
Although the Investigation Bureau works against drug activities, the role is not regarded as important by top government officials.
Premier Lin Chuan (林全) has talked more than once about the seriousness of corporate corruption, but the Investigation Bureau has not taken on that responsibility. If a fight against drugs and corporate corruption becomes its focus, and if it worked hard with the support of all ministries, it would soon build a positive image, and that would be in the public interest.
Yang Yung-nane is a professor in the political science department and the Graduate Institute of Political Economy at National Cheng Kung University.
Translated by Perry Svensson
Two sets of economic data released last week by the Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS) have drawn mixed reactions from the public: One on the nation’s economic performance in the first quarter of the year and the other on Taiwan’s household wealth distribution in 2021. GDP growth for the first quarter was faster than expected, at 6.51 percent year-on-year, an acceleration from the previous quarter’s 4.93 percent and higher than the agency’s February estimate of 5.92 percent. It was also the highest growth since the second quarter of 2021, when the economy expanded 8.07 percent, DGBAS data showed. The growth
In the intricate ballet of geopolitics, names signify more than mere identification: They embody history, culture and sovereignty. The recent decision by China to refer to Arunachal Pradesh as “Tsang Nan” or South Tibet, and to rename Tibet as “Xizang,” is a strategic move that extends beyond cartography into the realm of diplomatic signaling. This op-ed explores the implications of these actions and India’s potential response. Names are potent symbols in international relations, encapsulating the essence of a nation’s stance on territorial disputes. China’s choice to rename regions within Indian territory is not merely a linguistic exercise, but a symbolic assertion
More than seven months into the armed conflict in Gaza, the International Court of Justice ordered Israel to take “immediate and effective measures” to protect Palestinians in Gaza from the risk of genocide following a case brought by South Africa regarding Israel’s breaches of the 1948 Genocide Convention. The international community, including Amnesty International, called for an immediate ceasefire by all parties to prevent further loss of civilian lives and to ensure access to life-saving aid. Several protests have been organized around the world, including at the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) and many other universities in the US.
Every day since Oct. 7 last year, the world has watched an unprecedented wave of violence rain down on Israel and the occupied Palestinian Territories — more than 200 days of constant suffering and death in Gaza with just a seven-day pause. Many of us in the American expatriate community in Taiwan have been watching this tragedy unfold in horror. We know we are implicated with every US-made “dumb” bomb dropped on a civilian target and by the diplomatic cover our government gives to the Israeli government, which has only gotten more extreme with such impunity. Meantime, multicultural coalitions of US