Minister of Justice Chen Ding-nan (
While the attack marked another round of confrontation between the two government bodies, the feud itself highlights an even more important issue -- clarifying the bureau's policies and operations.
The first blow was dealt after the weekly Cabinet meeting yesterday when Chen said, "Covering up has been an overwhelming problem among high-ranking officials of the investigation bureau. And even the chief of the bureau has been involved."
MJIB Director Wang Kuang-ru (
"I hope Chen will spend more than just four hours understanding what the MJIB's duties are all about," Wang told reporters, speaking outside an academic seminar on DNA testing at the bureau.
Such comments are the tip of an iceberg of dissent between the MJIB and the new justice minister.
In an interview with a local radio news program last Saturday, the minister expressed deep frustration with the lack of control over the powerful bureau, which is assigned the duties of intelligence gathering and criminal investigation, but apparently prioritizes the former over the latter.
Since then, Chen has continued publicly criticizing what he labels the overly-centralized leadership of the bureau, suggesting they have abused their authority by covering up specific criminal cases and by assigning the bureau's agents to assist prosecutors' investigations in cherry-picked investigations.
Normally in complicated criminal cases, the prosecutors would ask agents of the MJIB to assist with investigations.
However, agents of the bureau are required to obtain approval from leaders before they can begin to assist with criminal investigations initiated by a prosecutor or launched within the bureau, thus potentially politicizing their duties.
Chen said prosecutors have long complained that the practice cripples investigations and that some of the reported cases would be "killed" halfway through for political reasons.
While reports over the past few days have focused on the sensational side of the confrontation, the minister explained yesterday his concern is how criminal investigations can be carried out effectively and fairly.
"As far as criminal investigation is concerned, it's evidence that talks. It's not something we should allow a haphazardly assigned group of people to have discretion over," Chen said.
Chen's comments have spurred some prosecutors to call on the public to look beyond the ongoing feud between Wang and Chen and reconsider the policies and operations of the MJIB.
"First, we have to figure out whether the centralization of power in the bureau deters criminal investigations from being carried out effectively. And then we need to think carefully about the possibility of dividing the bureau's duties of intelligence, surveillance and criminal investigation," said Chen Jui-jen (
"As long as the bureau continues to carry out intelligence tasks, we feel it's hopeless to talk about cracking down on corruption in the country," Chen said.
The Ministry of Justice and the MJIB have a long history of power wrangling. Two years ago intense infighting broke out between then Justice Minister Liao Cheng-hao (
Following the fight, a large-scale restructuring of the bureau was carried out. Since then, counter-intelligence tasks against domestic and foreign rivals have been prioritized over the bureau's other major duties, including investigation of violent crime, white-collar crime and corruption.
Opposition and reform groups have long requested that the government place the bureau under public scrutiny and transform it into an agency to protect national interests.
Its intelligence role, they think, should be transferred to the National Security Bureau, the country's highest intelligence organ.
They have suggested the bureau should model itself on the FBI, which underwent dramatic changes in the 1990s and has since focused its efforts on criminal investigation and defending national security.
Auckland rang in 2026 with a downtown fireworks display launched from New Zealand’s tallest structure, Sky Tower, making it the first major city to greet the new year at a celebration dampened by rain, while crowds in Taipei braved the elements to watch Taipei 101’s display. South Pacific countries are the first to bid farewell to 2025. Clocks struck midnight in Auckland, with a population of 1.7 million, 18 hours before the famous ball was to drop in New York’s Times Square. The five-minute display involved 3,500 fireworks launched from the 240m Sky Tower. Smaller community events were canceled across New Zealand’s
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday said it is closely monitoring developments in Venezuela, and would continue to cooperate with democratic allies and work together for regional and global security, stability, and prosperity. The remarks came after the US on Saturday launched a series of airstrikes in Venezuela and kidnapped Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, who was later flown to New York along with his wife. The pair face US charges related to drug trafficking and alleged cooperation with gangs designated as terrorist organizations. Maduro has denied the allegations. The ministry said that it is closely monitoring the political and economic situation
UNRELENTING: China attempted cyberattacks on Taiwan’s critical infrastructure 2.63 million times per day last year, up from 1.23 million in 2023, the NSB said China’s cyberarmy has long engaged in cyberattacks against Taiwan’s critical infrastructure, employing diverse and evolving tactics, the National Security Bureau (NSB) said yesterday, adding that cyberattacks on critical energy infrastructure last year increased 10-fold compared with the previous year. The NSB yesterday released a report titled Analysis on China’s Cyber Threats to Taiwan’s Critical Infrastructure in 2025, outlining the number of cyberattacks, major tactics and hacker groups. Taiwan’s national intelligence community identified a large number of cybersecurity incidents last year, the bureau said in a statement. China’s cyberarmy last year launched an average of 2.63 million intrusion attempts per day targeting Taiwan’s critical
‘SLICING METHOD’: In the event of a blockade, the China Coast Guard would intercept Taiwanese ships while its navy would seek to deter foreign intervention China’s military drills around Taiwan this week signaled potential strategies to cut the nation off from energy supplies and foreign military assistance, a US think tank report said. The Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) conducted what it called “Justice Mission 2025” exercises from Monday to Tuesday in five maritime zones and airspace around Taiwan, calling them a warning to “Taiwanese independence” forces. In a report released on Wednesday, the Institute for the Study of War said the exercises effectively simulated blocking shipping routes to major port cities, including Kaohsiung, Keelung and Hualien. Taiwan would be highly vulnerable under such a blockade, because it
RSS