An international survey found that Taiwanese junior-high school students have the lowest tolerance for corruption in Asia, officials from National Taiwan Normal University said.
That was the conclusion of the 2009 International Civic and Citizenship Education Study, the most recent survey conducted on the subject by the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement. The study’s Asian report was not released until Saturday.
The survey collected information from more than 140,000 eighth-grade students from 5,000 schools in 38 countries. Only four Asian countries — Taiwan, Thailand, South Korea and Indonesia — participated. National Taiwan Normal University carried out the surveys in Taiwan in May 2009.
Taiwanese respondents were found to be the least tolerant of corruption among their Asian counterparts, and 90 percent believed the personal ethics of political leaders, such as integrity and morals, were far more important than their abilities, according to local media reports.
They also said political figures should set good examples of ethical behavior and be responsible for their illegal activities and the misconduct of family members.
In comparison, Thai students had the highest corruption tolerance level in Asia, while Indonesian students had the lowest standards for political leaders’ personal ethics, university officials said.
Taiwanese and South Korean students were the least supportive when it came to voting on the basis of how the candidates were related to them, and found politicians’ use of inside connections unacceptable.
By rejecting the idea of politicians abusing relations and networks, the students polled showed they were slowly detaching themselves from traditional thinking in Chinese society, which emphasizes relationships, the university officials said.
Taiwanese and South Korean students also showed a low tolerance for undemocratic governments, while Indonesia and Thailand showed a high tolerance for authoritarianism.
The officials said the survey’s results showed Taiwanese and South Korean students had similar civic concepts, likely because of similarities in culture, and political and economic development.
Thailand is more tolerant to authoritarian rule, undemocratic government, corruption and the use of inside connections because of its political and religious system, the officials said.
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