A scandal erupted late last month over allegations of bribe-taking by Taipei City Government elevator inspectors. This was followed by prosecutors early this month asking a court to detain a number of legislators from three political parties on suspicion of taking bribes and openly pressuring officials to amend certain laws.
Corruption cases have kept cropping up throughout the years, involving all political parties in the central and local government, and causing anger and sadness among the public.
Although politicians from the three parties stand accused of involvement in the latest case of collective bribe-taking, some key legislators from the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) have also been deeply implicated, which could hit its image even harder than the other parties.
Research into the effectiveness of anti-corruption efforts around the world show that although top leaders’ concern for supporting the fight against corruption is the foremost factor that decides whether anti-corruption efforts can succeed, the real decisive factor is whether they can turn this concern into action.
There are a number of strategies that must operate in tandem for anti-corruption efforts to be effective.
First, the top leaders of a government, be it national or local, must be determined to fight corruption. They must do it strictly and fairly, without fear or favor. They must not give the slightest impression that fighting corruption is a mere slogan or let their friends and associates get away with it.
If they come across a specific incident of corruption, they should ask prosecutors to investigate. In this way, they can establish a clean and effective system, while also showing everyone that they are serious about rooting out corruption, so that people would not dare to put the law to the test.
Second, they must issue clear instructions requiring government departments and the departments of government-run enterprises to treat projects, requisitions and subsidies proposed by all political parties equally and impartially. They can also require units’ annual accounts to be held for inspection and comparison to find any discrepancies. This would help ensure that public administration is strict and fair.
Third, they must pay due attention to media oversight. Media reports about corruption usually turn out to be true, so they must not be ignored. Of course, there are those who make false accusations and spread rumors, but that makes it all the more important for government authorities to pro-actively explain the situation, rather than ignore such reports.
The fourth point is the importance of civic groups’ participation. With regard to participation in routine integrity affairs meetings, the ruling government should take the initiative to invite academics and experts from civic groups to take part.
However, they must not decide beforehand to invite friendly organizations. They must make the effort to enlist highly qualified and morally upright academics and experts, otherwise all they would get is a fixed government agent, with no real consultative effect.
Political parties should establish good talent-screening systems that emphasize honesty and ability when selecting staff. They should set up integrity affairs committees, implement internal anti-corruption systems of monitoring, action and punishment and routinely cooperate with the Ministry of Justice’s Agency Against Corruption and Investigation Bureau, and with the media and civic groups. This would make it possible to achieve tangible effects with regard to integrity in a relatively short period.
Tsao Yao-chun is a researcher with Transparency International Taiwan.
Translated by Julian Clegg
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