The Executive Yuan yesterday launched its Anti-Money Laundering Office to clamp down on money laundering and improve the nation’s financial transparency.
“Taiwan is the first nation in the Asia-Pacific region to legislate against money laundering, but in the past 10 years, Taiwan has been falling behind in this area and might even be listed on the Asia-Pacific Group on Money Laundering watch list,” Premier Lin Chuan (林全) said at the office’s launch ceremony in Taipei.
Stricter law enforcement will not burden the financial sector, but could instead facilitate financial activities, Lin said.
Photo: Peter Lo, Taipei Times
“I have heard people say that offshore banking units would leave the nation if the Money Laundering Control Act (洗錢防制法) was enforced more rigorously, or it would affect personal and financial privacy. These are unproductive thoughts. We want people to cooperate with the government in preventing money laundering to rebuild the financial system and transform it into a more transparent and regulated environment,” Lin said.
Minister of Justice Chiu Tai-san (邱太三) said the financial sector has long neglected the importance of cracking down on money laundering, resulting in the violation of US money laundering rules by the Mega International Commercial Bank’s New York branch, for which the bank was issued a US$180 million fine in August last year.
The office is to ensure legal compliance and prevent the laundering of illegal assets on an international level, Chiu said.
All high-level officials of the executive, legislative and judicial branches of the government would be under the office’s regulation to supervise their loans and real-estate transactions, Deputy Minister of Justice Chen Ming-tang (陳明堂) said.
Relatives, close friends and aides of the officials would also be regulated, and any monetary transaction would be reviewed.
The office has of 19 staff members and is to be headed by Deputy Minister of Justice Tsai Pi-chung (蔡碧仲).
Taipei has once again made it to the top 100 in Oxford Economics’ Global Cities Index 2025 report, moving up five places from last year to 60. The annual index, which was published last month, evaluated 1,000 of the most populated metropolises based on five indices — economics, human capital, quality of life, environment and governance. New York maintained its top spot this year, placing first in the economics index thanks to the strength of its vibrant financial industry and economic stability. Taipei ranked 263rd in economics, 44th in human capital, 15th in quality of life, 284th for environment and 75th in governance,
The Sports Administration yesterday demanded an apology from the national table tennis association for barring 17-year-old Yeh Yi-tian (葉伊恬) from competing in the upcoming World Table Tennis (WTT) United States Smash tournament in Las Vegas this July. The sports agency said in a statement that the Chinese Taipei Table Tennis Association (CTTTA) must explain to the public why it withdrew Yeh from the WTT tournament in Las Vegas. The sports agency said it contacted the association to express its disapproval of the decision-making process after receiving a complaint from Yeh’s coach, Chuang
Control Yuan Secretary-General Lee Chun-yi (李俊俋) tendered his resignation last night, admitting that he had misused a government vehicle, as reported by media. His resignation was immediately accepted by the Control Yuan. In a statement explaining why he had resigned, Lee apologized for using a Control Yuan vehicle to transport his dog to a pet grooming salon on May 20. The issue first came to light late last month, when TVBS News reported that Lee had instructed his driver to take the dog to the salon. The news channel broadcast photos that it said were taken by an unnamed whistle-blower, which purportedly showed the
A former officer in China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) who witnessed the aftermath of the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre has warned that Taiwan could face a similar fate if China attempts to unify the country by force. Li Xiaoming (李曉明), who was deployed to Beijing as a junior officer during the crackdown, said Taiwanese people should study the massacre carefully, because it offers a glimpse of what Beijing is willing to do to suppress dissent. “What happened in Tiananmen Square could happen in Taiwan too,” Li told CNA in a May 22 interview, ahead of the massacre’s 36th anniversary. “If Taiwanese students or