The heads of Taiwan's law enforcement agencies yesterday unveiled what they termed an "action initiative" to combat so-called "black gold" (黑金) politics yesterday, hoping to restore public confidence in law and order.
Meeting at the National Police Administration (
After two hours of discussion, the group concluded that a cross-agency commission to be headed by the State Prosecutor-general will take charge of implementing the "action initiative," while other government branches will coordinate closely with law enforcement agencies in the fight against "black gold."
Yeh said the action program not only requires prosecutors nationwide to begin active investigations into organized rings' political and economic relations, but asks them to ensure convictions of the suspects having been investigated.
Yeh said the uniqueness of the program is the level of assistance available from other government agencies -- including the Ministry of Finance (
The word "black" refers to organized crime groups entering the political arena by violent and/or unlawful means, while the word "gold" points to subsequent abuses of political power in pursuit of financial interests. In emphasizing the urgency of the initiative, interior minister Huang pointed out that black gold politics has become the biggest obstacle standing in the way of national development.
Citing the results of a recent national survey, Huang said one out of four people in Taiwan has expressed shame over the situation in Taiwan, where organized crime has repeatedly penetrated into the operations of political and economic power.
"The number of elected officials facing criminal charges is steadily growing and the amount of bad loans at local financial institutions is also rising sharply. If we don't act on the problem, where will our citizens find social justice, and what's the meaning for them in pursuing democracy?" Huang asked.
Opposition and independent critics have consistently blasted the KMT's contribution to "black gold" politics.
Political analyst Chen Ming-tung (
According to Chen, these representatives have at times abused their political power to pressure financial institutions to approve loans to businesses owned by themselves or by their friends and relatives.
It is also common that the representatives press for the passage of bills from which they would personally benefit, Chen said.
Law enforcement agencies have made frequent pledges to combat the corrupt side of Taiwan politics in the past.
In distinguishing the new program, the justice minister stressed yesterday that this program will be more effective given the close coordination among various agencies.
Both Yeh and Huang tried to assure law enforcement officials that pressure from corrupt representatives will not undermine the "black gold" crackdown.
"You do your jobs to investigate every possible occurrence of unlawful acts and I will do my job of taking political responsibility for the investigation. Don't ever worry about undue political intervention because all of you are well backed up by Huang and myself," Yeh said.
The US government has signed defense cooperation agreements with Japan and the Philippines to boost the deterrence capabilities of countries in the first island chain, a report by the National Security Bureau (NSB) showed. The main countries on the first island chain include the two nations and Taiwan. The bureau is to present the report at a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee tomorrow. The US military has deployed Typhon missile systems to Japan’s Yamaguchi Prefecture and Zambales province in the Philippines during their joint military exercises. It has also installed NMESIS anti-ship systems in Japan’s Okinawa
‘WIN-WIN’: The Philippines, and central and eastern European countries are important potential drone cooperation partners, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung said Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) in an interview published yesterday confirmed that there are joint ventures between Taiwan and Poland in the drone industry. Lin made the remark in an exclusive interview with the Chinese-language Liberty Times (the Taipei Times’ sister paper). The government-backed Taiwan Excellence Drone International Business Opportunities Alliance and the Polish Chamber of Unmanned Systems on Wednesday last week signed a memorandum of understanding in Poland to develop a “non-China” supply chain for drones and work together on key technologies. Asked if Taiwan prioritized Poland among central and eastern European countries in drone collaboration, Lin
Renewed border fighting between Thailand and Cambodia showed no signs of abating yesterday, leaving hundreds of thousands of displaced people in both countries living in strained conditions as more flooded into temporary shelters. Reporters on the Thai side of the border heard sounds of outgoing, indirect fire yesterday. About 400,000 people have been evacuated from affected areas in Thailand and about 700 schools closed while fighting was ongoing in four border provinces, said Thai Rear Admiral Surasant Kongsiri, a spokesman for the military. Cambodia evacuated more than 127,000 villagers and closed hundreds of schools, the Thai Ministry of Defense said. Thailand’s military announced that
CABINET APPROVAL: People seeking assisted reproduction must be assessed to determine whether they would be adequate parents, the planned changes say Proposed amendments to the Assisted Reproduction Act (人工生殖法) advanced yesterday by the Executive Yuan would grant married lesbian couples and single women access to legal assisted reproductive services. The proposed revisions are “based on the fundamental principle of respecting women’s reproductive autonomy,” Cabinet spokesperson Michelle Lee (李慧芝) quoted Vice Premier Cheng Li-chiun (鄭麗君), who presided over a Cabinet meeting earlier yesterday, as saying at the briefing. The draft amendment would be submitted to the legislature for review. The Ministry of Health and Welfare, which proposed the amendments, said that experts on children’s rights, gender equality, law and medicine attended cross-disciplinary meetings, adding that
RSS