Group urges MJIB reform

Agents of the Ministry of Justice Investigation Bureau (MJIB) yesterday openly condemned President Chen Shui-bian's (陳水扁) administration for misusing the country's intelligence service to serve partisan interests -- just as the KMT had done for years.

After months of preparation, some 12 MJIB investigators yesterday announced the establishment of an "Investigators' Reform Association" (調查員改革協會), vowing to free the bureau from five decades of political manipulation and focus its attention on combating crime.

The association, which claims to have the support of some 300 of the MJIB's 1200 officials nationwide, also made public a draft of the "Law on the Neutrality and Supervision of Intelligence and Law Enforcement Units."

"The aim of the law is to create a reasonable division of duty for intelligence and law enforcement units in order to achieve neutrality," according to a statement issued by the association.

The association is seeking support from lawmakers across party lines. Legislators and representatives from four major political parties appeared at yesterday's event to endorse the association.

Bouquets were also sent by Vice President Annette Lu (呂秀蓮), KMT chairman Lien Chan (連戰) and DPP chairman Frank Hsieh (謝長廷).

MJIB duties currently fall under nine major categories. Of these, "surveying national conditions" (國情調查) has most often been criticized as being a tool for leaders of the country to suppress political dissidents and opposition parties. Association members have called for this aspect of the bureau's responsibilities to be changed.

"We had expected that when the DPP, which was victimized by [surveillance] during the KMT era, came into power, it would change this practice. However, we haven't seen a change yet," said MJIB investigator and association member Jack Wu (吳克俊).

"What has changed is that now the objects of the probes are KMT, New Party and PFP politicians." Wu said.

Such "surveys of national conditions" are submitted first to the National Security Bureau then to the president on a daily basis.

"Presidents use the government's intelligence services to probe political foes. In the US, only once has a president been forced from office for such an act, but in Taiwan such practice has been institutionalized for 50 years!" Wu said.

"The vicious circle must be stopped. We hope the president has the courage and determination to say, 'Stop this! From now on I don't want to read these materials.'"

The MJIB's funtions have long been a source of controversy. It is a unit of the Ministry of Justice but actually it has two "bosses." Its criminal investigation work is overseen by the justice ministry, while its national security work and surveys are overseen by the National Security Bureau (NSB) -- which is directly controlled by the president.

For this reason, successive directors of the MJIB have been beyond justice ministers' control and often come to loggerheads with the ministers as they report to a higher authority.

In their draft of the "neutrality law," the association says the MJIB should be be made responsible for domestic intelligence work and investigation of special crimes such as drugs, corruption and gang activity, while the NSB should take charge of external intelligence.

"Then the channel through which the NSB is able to interfere with the MJIB would be cut," an association member said.