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 Ministry of Transportation and Communications yesterday inaugurated the Danjiang Bridge across the Tamsui River in New Taipei City, saying that the structure would be an architectural icon and traffic artery for Taiwan. Feted as a major engineering achievement, the Danjiang Bridge is 920m long, 211m tall at the top of its pylon, and is the longest single-pylon asymmetric cable-stayed bridge in the world, the government’s Web site for the structure said. It was designed by late Iraqi-British architect Zaha Hadid. The structure, with a maximum deck of 70m, accommodates road and light rail traffic, and affords a 200m navigation channel for boats,
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