Taiwan was ranked 37th among 176 nations and regions in an annual global index on the perception of corruption in the public sector, dropping five spots from last year, the results showed yesterday.
The Corruption Perception Index (CPI) scores countries on a scale from zero (highly corrupt) to 100 (very clean).
Taiwan scored 61.
The nation’s ranking at 37th was the third-highest in East Asia, according to Transparency International’s (TI) Corruption Perception Index 2012.
Taiwan trailed Hong Kong, which had a score of 76, and Japan, with 74. South Korea was ranked 45th with a score of 56.
Last year, Taiwan was ranked 32nd among 183 nations and territories. On the scale of zero to 10 that was used previously, Taiwan scored 6.1 last year.
TI-Taiwan executive director Kevin Yeh (葉一璋) said because TI has revised the methodology for the index this year, it would not be accurate to compare the two scores on the different scales.
Denmark, Finland and New Zealand shared the top spot this year with a score of 90. Among the other nations scoring higher than 80 were Sweden (88), Switzerland (86), Australia (85), Norway (85) and Canada (84).
China remained in 80th place with a score of 39.
A country or territory had to be evaluated by at least three independent institutions before being included in the index. The polls reflect different groups’ opinions on various aspects related to corruption in the polled country.
Noting that domestic surveys have showed the public believe local councils, local governments and the judicial system to be basically corrupt, Chai Sung-lin (柴松林), honorary president of the Taipei-based Chinese Association for Human Rights, said the CPI might not accurately reflect domestic concerns because the institutions conducting the research have little chance to learn about the local situation.
A magnitude 7.0 earthquake struck off Yilan at 11:05pm yesterday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The epicenter was located at sea, about 32.3km east of Yilan County Hall, at a depth of 72.8km, CWA data showed There were no immediate reports of damage. The intensity of the quake, which gauges the actual effect of a seismic event, measured 4 in Yilan County area on Taiwan’s seven-tier intensity scale, the data showed. It measured 4 in other parts of eastern, northern and central Taiwan as well as Tainan, and 3 in Kaohsiung and Pingtung County, and 2 in Lienchiang and Penghu counties and 1
A car bomb killed a senior Russian general in southern Moscow yesterday morning, the latest high-profile army figure to be blown up in a blast that came just hours after Russian and Ukrainian delegates held separate talks in Miami on a plan to end the war. Kyiv has not commented on the incident, but Russian investigators said they were probing whether the blast was “linked” to “Ukrainian special forces.” The attack was similar to other assassinations of generals and pro-war figures that have either been claimed, or are widely believed to have been orchestrated, by Ukraine. Russian Lieutenant General Fanil Sarvarov, 56, head
FOREIGN INTERFERENCE: Beijing would likely intensify public opinion warfare in next year’s local elections to prevent Lai from getting re-elected, the ‘Yomiuri Shimbun’ said Internal documents from a Chinese artificial intelligence (AI) company indicated that China has been using the technology to intervene in foreign elections, including propaganda targeting Taiwan’s local elections next year and presidential elections in 2028, a Japanese newspaper reported yesterday. The Institute of National Security of Vanderbilt University obtained nearly 400 pages of documents from GoLaxy, a company with ties to the Chinese government, and found evidence that it had apparently deployed sophisticated, AI-driven propaganda campaigns in Hong Kong and Taiwan to shape public opinion, the Yomiuri Shimbun reported. GoLaxy provides insights, situation analysis and public opinion-shaping technology by conducting network surveillance
‘POLITICAL GAME’: DPP lawmakers said the motion would not meet the legislative threshold needed, and accused the KMT and the TPP of trivializing the Constitution The Legislative Yuan yesterday approved a motion to initiate impeachment proceedings against President William Lai (賴清德), saying he had undermined Taiwan’s constitutional order and democracy. The motion was approved 61-50 by lawmakers from the main opposition Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and the smaller Taiwan People’s Party (TPP), who together hold a legislative majority. Under the motion, a roll call vote for impeachment would be held on May 19 next year, after various hearings are held and Lai is given the chance to defend himself. The move came after Lai on Monday last week did not promulgate an amendment passed by the legislature that
RSS