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.
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