Transparency International has published its Corruption Perception Index for 2019, which gives Taiwan a score of 65, placing it 28th out of 180 countries and territories rated according to their perceived levels of public sector corruption.
This is two points better than Taiwan’s 2018 score and sees it move up three notches in the rankings, both of which are new highs for the nation. Clearly, Taiwan’s provisions for clean governance are increasingly being met with international approval.
The 2019 results were calculated by aggregating and analyzing 13 different data sources from opinion polls and renowned institutions, including The Economist and the International Institute for Management Development in Lausanne, Switzerland.
These sources are questionnaires and interviews primarily with businesspeople, media workers and experts, and represent the respondents’ subjective views of engaging in international trade.
Although the index is based on perceptions, it does provide a picture of a country’s anti-corruption laws and of the society’s understanding of them, thus serving as a basis for deciding that country’s level of corruption.
In the Asia-Pacific region, New Zealand, Singapore, Australia and Japan all score higher than Taiwan, ranking first, fourth, 12th and 20th respectively. This demonstrates that these countries have stricter laws governing public sector corruption than Taiwan, and that their citizens have higher expectations for clean government than Taiwanese.
There is consequently much room for improvement in reinforcing Taiwan’s anti-corruption legislation and business integrity, as well as public education, to increase understanding of the evils of bribery.
In the past few years, Taiwan’s competent authorities have been following the standards laid out in the UN Convention Against Corruption to create a more stringent legal framework, amending legislation, such as the Act on Recusal of Public Servants Due to Conflicts of Interest (公職人員利益衝突迴避法) and the Money Laundering Control Act (洗錢防制法).
There are, of course, areas in which Taiwan can do better, such as by speeding up the enactment of whistle-blower protection legislation.
In addition to rooting out corruption, another area that cannot be ignored is how to prevent public officials from carrying out their duties through fear of being bitten by anti-profiteering clauses.
In addition to establishing a robust clean government system for public officials, another crucial issue is the public’s level of tolerance for corrupt practices.
For example, many businesses consider giving kickbacks a legitimate practice, and provisions for high entertainment expenses are common.
People also see nothing wrong with a bribe here or there to expedite a process, and illegal political contributions are the norm rather than the exception.
The authorities need to be more proactive and consistent about educating the public about corruption in all its forms.
Regarding the issue of business integrity, during a November 2017 meeting of the Ministry of Justice’s Central Integrity Committee, then-premier William Lai (賴清德) said that the government was looking into applying the latest ISO 37001 anti-bribery management systems standards and the relevant government departments should work toward implementing them to help companies establish anti-corruption mechanisms.
For all this to work, the private and public sectors would need to come together, not only for the establishment of anti-corruption regulations, but also to educate the public about the problem and to promote business integrity in this country.
Even though Taiwan has made improvements in the corruption index, it cannot rest on its laurels, and should redouble its efforts.
Hsu Jen-hui is chairman of Taiwan Transparency International and a professor at Shih Hsin University’s department of public policy and management.
Translated by Paul Cooper
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