The word “integrity” implies incorruptibility, honesty and uprightness. It is also the characteristic that developed countries value most.
I recently attended an academic forum on clean government — or integrity — that was organized by the Ministry of National Defense and attended by hundreds of people, including the minister of national defense and his deputies and chief of staff, the National Defense University president and vice president, and officers who teach at the school’s War College.
Their attendance at the forum received high praise from participating international experts on clean government, and it was proof of the importance that the nation’s top military brass place on integrity in military affairs.
The ministry’s use of transparent exchanges between the government and academia, and with international organizations, makes second-track diplomacy a success, and is a manifestation of the integrity and confidence of a developed nation.
From the international community’s point of view, the confusion and slogans surrounding Taiwan’s presidential campaigns are superficial and frustrating.
As the slogans and strategies have no practical effect in eliminating obstacles and were long ago deemed “bad strategies” in management studies — for example, Richard Rumelt’s book Good Strategy, Bad Strategy shows how they will harm an association of small businesses as easily as a group of nations — political leaders should make “integrity” a critical piece of the discussion and the most important part of their policy implementation.
This applies in particular to the president and the premier, who should lead by example and place integrity at the center of everything they do.
With vigorous cooperation from the minister of the interior, the National Police Agency and the Agency Against Corruption, they should make anti-corruption measures the focus of an integrity strategy, while spreading the message about corruption prevention regulations to help civil servants avoid making mistakes and resist temptation.
Their efforts should join forces with the fight against organized crime to prevent the corrupt behavior of criminals.
To satisfy the public, this war must have observable results. If not, another change of ruling party will just be another invisible transition of power.
Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte continues to receive high ratings at home, despite international condemnation, because he has made fighting corruption and drugs his top priority.
US President Donald Trump still enjoys surprisingly strong public support at home, despite being ridiculed by the international media, because he is addressing his nation’s longstanding unfair treatment in international trade and refuses to compromise.
These are good strategies that are supported by the public.
Regardless of international opinion of these two leaders, Duterte and Trump are taking concrete measures to remove strategic obstacles facing their nations.
Hopefully the government will respond to the military’s tangible integrity work by making national integrity its goal and instructing departments at all levels that they must cooperate with these integrity measures.
There are studies that show how such strategies quickly bring encouraging and inspiring results.
Tsao Yao-chun is a researcher with Transparency International-Taiwan and an external expert with the Ministry of National Defense on anti-corruption index evaluations of governments.
Translated by Perry Svensson
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