Minister of Justice Chen Ding-nan (
With strong opposition from the Ministry of Justice Investigation Bureau (MJIB), the Ministry of Justice is reconsidering Chen's original proposal of merging part of the bureau into the new anti-corruption task force.
Chen first disclosed yesterday that his original plans for the task force are facing radical alteration.
"We are considering transforming the Government Ethics Department into the anti-corruption administration, which would then fight corruption parallel with the MJIB," he said.
According to the revised version, the MJIB would be left intact. However, an ultimate conclusion has yet to be reached.
"During intra-ministry discussions last Friday Chen said he wasn't insisting on a merger," a high-ranking official at the Government Ethics Department said. The department is now in charge of drafting the project.
According to Chen's original proposal, which he announced when designated as minister in April, the anti-corruption administration would be set up by merging the MJIB's anti-corruption department and the Government Ethics Department of the Justice Ministry to create a unit staffed by roughly 4,000 people.
However, the plan, along with others that were considered to weaken the MJIB, has been resisted by the MJIB officials.
The MJIB had previously acted as an intelligence agency for the KMT to crack down on political dissidents, and Chen's ability to work with the bureau has drawn much public attention.
Local media reported yesterday that the merger plan has already been dismissed. An official, who declined to be named, firmly denied the rumor, and said that both versions of the project are being examined with a conclusion to be sent to the Executive Yuan for approval by the end of June.
Speaking on the virtues of the new proposal, Chen said yesterday that there could be healthy competition between the MJIB and the planned anti-corruption administration, as both would be tasked with achieving the same ends.
However, prior to yesterday he had been emphasizing the virtues of resource integration and unification of responsibilities.
He now acknowledges that opposition from the MJIB to the merger was a factor behind his latest proposal.
"For the good of the organization, we of course hope to remain complete," a high-ranking MJIB official said yesterday.
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