Thu, Jan 20, 2000 page2

• Top cops draw big guns against `black gold'

  CORRUPTION FIGHTERS Top-level officials have pledged the full and coordinated attention of their agencies to mount another battle against gangster politics

  • By Irene Lin / STAFF REPORTER
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  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 (內政部警政署, NPA), the nation's most powerful law enforcement leaders -- Justice Minister Yeh Chin-fong (葉金鳳), Interior Minister Huang Chu-wen (黃主文), State Public Prosecutor General Lu Jen-fa (盧仁發), Director of the Investigation Bureau Wang Jen-yu (王仁宇), and Director of the NPA Ting Yuan-chin (丁原進) -- discussed with prosecutors and police officers methods to crack down on the scourge of organized crime. The, called "black gold," bear influence over and even participate in both politics and economic affairs, they said.

  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 (財政部), the Environmental Protection Administration (行政院環境保護署), and the Public Construction Commission (行政院公共工程委員會) -- all very likely to discover unlawful conduct by organized crime rings within their jurisdictions.

  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 (陳明通), who has long studied the political power of Taiwan's local factions, said in the early days of the KMT's rule in Taiwan, the party used local factions to help secure its majority in elections. And as soon as the candidates, chosen from the local factions, were elected either to central or local legislatures, they began asking for rewards to make up for the money they had spent buying votes in those elections.

  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.
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