Transparency International (TI) will commission a new poll on corruption in Taiwan, an official said yesterday, after the group’s original findings sparked widespread skepticism in the nation.
Transparency International Chinese Taipei (TICT) executive director Kevin Yeh (葉一璋) said the Berlin-based group has agreed to conduct a new poll, although how this will be funded has yet to be determined.
Yeh said TICT is expected to foot most of the bill, but it is discussing the issue with its parent organization in the hope that it will provide some of the funds.
Yeh did not give an estimate of how much a new poll would cost.
TICT is planning to hire an impartial and experienced polling firm to handle the project after discussing issues such as survey methodology and questionnaire structuring with TI, Yeh said.
The non-governmental organization came under fire after its 2013 Global Corruption Barometer report said that 36 percent of people in Taiwan who had used one of eight government services in the past year had paid a bribe.
The report sparked skepticism as the percentage was far higher than the 7 percent and 2 percent figures reported in TI’s 2010 and 2006 reports respectively, the only other times Taiwan was in the survey.
Skepticism was heightened when media found that the firm listed as having conducted the Taiwan survey — Shanghai-based WisdomAsia — denied having done the job.
Alain Robert, known as the "French Spider-Man," praised Alex Honnold as exceptionally well-prepared after the US climber completed a free solo ascent of Taipei 101 yesterday. Robert said Honnold's ascent of the 508m-tall skyscraper in just more than one-and-a-half hours without using safety ropes or equipment was a remarkable achievement. "This is my life," he said in an interview conducted in French, adding that he liked the feeling of being "on the edge of danger." The 63-year-old Frenchman climbed Taipei 101 using ropes in December 2004, taking about four hours to reach the top. On a one-to-10 scale of difficulty, Robert said Taipei 101
Nipah virus infection is to be officially listed as a category 5 notifiable infectious disease in Taiwan in March, while clinical treatment guidelines are being formulated, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said yesterday. With Nipah infections being reported in other countries and considering its relatively high fatality rate, the centers on Jan. 16 announced that it would be listed as a notifiable infectious disease to bolster the nation’s systematic early warning system and increase public awareness, the CDC said. Bangladesh reported four fatal cases last year in separate districts, with three linked to raw date palm sap consumption, CDC Epidemic Intelligence
US climber Alex Honnold left Taiwan this morning a day after completing a free-solo ascent of Taipei 101, a feat that drew cheers from onlookers and gained widespread international attention. Honnold yesterday scaled the 101-story skyscraper without a rope or safety harness. The climb — the highest urban free-solo ascent ever attempted — took just more than 90 minutes and was streamed live on Netflix. It was covered by major international news outlets including CNN, the New York Times, the Guardian and the Wall Street Journal. As Honnold prepared to leave Taiwan today, he attracted a crowd when he and his wife, Sanni,
Taiwanese and US defense groups are collaborating to introduce deployable, semi-autonomous manufacturing systems for drones and components in a boost to the nation’s supply chain resilience. Taiwan’s G-Tech Optroelectronics Corp subsidiary GTOC and the US’ Aerkomm Inc on Friday announced an agreement with fellow US-based Firestorm Lab to adopt the latter’s xCell, a technology featuring 3D printers fitted in 6.1m container units. The systems enable aerial platforms and parts to be produced in high volumes from dispersed nodes capable of rapid redeployment, to minimize the risk of enemy strikes and to meet field requirements, they said. Firestorm chief technology officer Ian Muceus said
RSS