A group of lawmakers from across party lines yesterday appealed for the quick handling of a bill designed to enable the establishment of an anti-corruption agency. The bill has been stalled in the legislature for weeks by objections raised by the majority KMT caucus.
The lawmakers argued that an agency specializing in cracking down on corruption is badly needed by Taiwan, which has won a bad name internationally for its corruption problem.
"Even the US has listed corruption as a major barrier to trade with Taiwan. The corruption problem has continued from the time of the old government to the new one without any indication that it is dying out," said New Party Legislator Lai Shyh-bao (賴士葆).
Other legislators joining the cause yesterday included independent Eugene Jao (趙永清), the KMT's Chen Shei-saint (陳學聖) and the People First Party's Liu Wen-hsiung (劉文雄).
They cited the examples of Hong Kong's Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) and Singapore's Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB), which have helped reduce political corruption and increase the competitiveness of those countries.
The Ministry of Justice has submitted to the legislature a bill to establish an anti-corruption agency, but the bill has not been able to move on to a legislative committee for review and debate.
According to Jao, KMT legislators have blocked the bill in the Procedure Committee six times in a row.
"It is time for the KMT, which lost power because of its `black gold' problem, to show its sincerity and resolution to attack this problem and stop barring the establishment of the anti-corruption agency," Jao said.
In response, KMT caucus whip Cheng Yung-chin (鄭永金) explained that his party had not objected to establishing the anti-corruption agency, but thinks that the proposed bill deserves further consideration. "If we aren't careful, we may create a redundant `administrative monster.' It will be too late to rectify by then," Cheng said.
Cheng said it would be more appropriate to discuss the matter in an inter-party negotiation before letting the bill proceed to a legislative committee, and that the KMT would soon submit its own proposal for an anti-corruption agency under the Control Yuan.
Under the ministry's proposal, the anti-corruption agency would be directly under the ministry.
Currently, the ministry has a Government Ethics Department, while most other government agencies have a department serving a similar purpose.
The KMT has argued that the key issue is to boost the efficiency of these departments, and that it would be a waste of public resources to set up the anti-corruption agency while these departments already exist. Under its proposal, the "ethics departments" would be abolished.
Chen, a pro-reform KMT legislator, however, said these details should be discussed while the bill is debated in a legislative committee, rather than brought up even before the bill has had a chance to go forward.
Authorities have detained three former Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TMSC, 台積電) employees on suspicion of compromising classified technology used in making 2-nanometer chips, the Taiwan High Prosecutors’ Office said yesterday. Prosecutors are holding a former TSMC engineer surnamed Chen (陳) and two recently sacked TSMC engineers, including one person surnamed Wu (吳) in detention with restricted communication, following an investigation launched on July 25, a statement said. The announcement came a day after Nikkei Asia reported on the technology theft in an exclusive story, saying TSMC had fired two workers for contravening data rules on advanced chipmaking technology. Two-nanometer wafers are the most
Tsunami waves were possible in three areas of Kamchatka in Russia’s Far East, the Russian Ministry for Emergency Services said yesterday after a magnitude 7.0 earthquake hit the nearby Kuril Islands. “The expected wave heights are low, but you must still move away from the shore,” the ministry said on the Telegram messaging app, after the latest seismic activity in the area. However, the Pacific Tsunami Warning System in Hawaii said there was no tsunami warning after the quake. The Russian tsunami alert was later canceled. Overnight, the Krasheninnikov volcano in Kamchatka erupted for the first time in 600 years, Russia’s RIA
CHINA’s BULLYING: The former British prime minister said that he believes ‘Taiwan can and will’ protect its freedom and democracy, as its people are lovers of liberty Former British prime minister Boris Johnson yesterday said Western nations should have the courage to stand with and deepen their economic partnerships with Taiwan in the face of China’s intensified pressure. He made the remarks at the ninth Ketagalan Forum: 2025 Indo-Pacific Security Dialogue hosted by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Prospect Foundation in Taipei. Johnson, who is visiting Taiwan for the first time, said he had seen Taiwan’s coastline on a screen on his indoor bicycle, but wanted to learn more about the nation, including its artificial intelligence (AI) development, the key technology of the 21st century. Calling himself an
South Korea yesterday said that it was removing loudspeakers used to blare K-pop and news reports to North Korea, as the new administration in Seoul tries to ease tensions with its bellicose neighbor. The nations, still technically at war, had already halted propaganda broadcasts along the demilitarized zone, Seoul’s military said in June after the election of South Korean President Lee Jae-myung. It said in June that Pyongyang stopped transmitting bizarre, unsettling noises along the border that had become a major nuisance for South Korean residents, a day after South Korea’s loudspeakers fell silent. “Starting today, the military has begun removing the loudspeakers,”
RSS