The indictment of eight former and incumbent legislators on Tuesday on charges of accepting bribes from the Taiwan Dental Association has once again brought the murky goings on of the political world into the spotlight.
The accused were indicted for receiving various amounts of cash from the association between 2002 and 2003 in return for backing an oral healthcare act which allowed dentists to receive cash from the National Health Insurance.
One of those indicted, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Tsai Huang-liang (
But Tsai's accusations of bias is not the issue; it is the ambiguous distinction between a "bribe" and a "donation" that is the problem. In the eyes of the law, the only difference between a bribe and a donation is the amount involved -- sums under NT$300,000 (US$9,300) are classified as donations.
Another, more worrying aspect, is that it allows lawmakers to openly receive large amounts of cash from people looking to further their own interests.
The dental association case is startlingly similar to that of the National Chinese Herbal Apothecary Association in which eight legislators were indicted earlier this month for allegedly accepting bribes in return for their support for an amendment to a law that restored an association member's right to fill out medical prescriptions.
These events took place in 1997, yet they were not investigated until Chinese-language Next magazine brought them to light in January last year.
Hopefully, the passage of the Political Donations Law in 2004 and the Lobby Law, which comes into effect in August, will help curb such behavior. But in the meantime it would be interesting to know how many other cases of this nature have occurred in the intervening years and how much money has been used to grease the palms of corrupt lawmakers. No wonder the reputation of legislators remains among the lowest of the low.
Since it gained a huge majority in the legislative elections earlier this month, the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) has been busy assuaging public concern, saying it will run a "clean legislature," prioritize proposed amendments to the Political Donations Law and adhere to a "clean politics agreement" that advocates strict adherence to the existing "sunshine laws."
KMT presidential candidate Ma Ying-jeou (
But the public should not forget this is the same party that during the last legislature doggedly refused to pass nine DPP-backed sunshine bills that are more comprehensive and stricter in nature.
Whether the new legislature, with one party holding such a dominant position and its continued lack of real transparency and oversight, will fulfill its promises on corruption remains to be seen. Until the public sees concrete action taken to tackle corruption and amend the laws that more or less make bribes legal, then all the vows and promises in the world will not help to convince anyone that things will ever change.
The gutting of Voice of America (VOA) and Radio Free Asia (RFA) by US President Donald Trump’s administration poses a serious threat to the global voice of freedom, particularly for those living under authoritarian regimes such as China. The US — hailed as the model of liberal democracy — has the moral responsibility to uphold the values it champions. In undermining these institutions, the US risks diminishing its “soft power,” a pivotal pillar of its global influence. VOA Tibetan and RFA Tibetan played an enormous role in promoting the strong image of the US in and outside Tibet. On VOA Tibetan,
Sung Chien-liang (宋建樑), the leader of the Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) efforts to recall Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Lee Kun-cheng (李坤城), caused a national outrage and drew diplomatic condemnation on Tuesday after he arrived at the New Taipei City District Prosecutors’ Office dressed in a Nazi uniform. Sung performed a Nazi salute and carried a copy of Adolf Hitler’s Mein Kampf as he arrived to be questioned over allegations of signature forgery in the recall petition. The KMT’s response to the incident has shown a striking lack of contrition and decency. Rather than apologizing and distancing itself from Sung’s actions,
US President Trump weighed into the state of America’s semiconductor manufacturing when he declared, “They [Taiwan] stole it from us. They took it from us, and I don’t blame them. I give them credit.” At a prior White House event President Trump hosted TSMC chairman C.C. Wei (魏哲家), head of the world’s largest and most advanced chip manufacturer, to announce a commitment to invest US$100 billion in America. The president then shifted his previously critical rhetoric on Taiwan and put off tariffs on its chips. Now we learn that the Trump Administration is conducting a “trade investigation” on semiconductors which
By now, most of Taiwan has heard Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an’s (蔣萬安) threats to initiate a vote of no confidence against the Cabinet. His rationale is that the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP)-led government’s investigation into alleged signature forgery in the Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) recall campaign constitutes “political persecution.” I sincerely hope he goes through with it. The opposition currently holds a majority in the Legislative Yuan, so the initiation of a no-confidence motion and its passage should be entirely within reach. If Chiang truly believes that the government is overreaching, abusing its power and targeting political opponents — then
RSS