Transparency International on Tuesday released its Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) scores and rankings for last year. Taiwan’s score increased from 2024 by one point, earning a score of 68 on a scale of zero (highly corrupt) to 100 (very clean). Its rank also jumped by one spot to 24th globally. This latest score marks a historical high for Taiwan — the nation’s best since CPI evaluations began in 1995. The ruling party is justified in feeling gratified: It can use this professional and objective international assessment to silence the opposition’s criticisms.
However, from a broader international perspective, whether Taiwan could improve on this ranking would depend on a structural breakthrough. Taiwan has long remained outside of the top 20 countries globally, with its score remaining in the 60s for more than a decade. By contrast, Japan ranked 18th with a score of 71, representing fundamental differences in the hierarchy of integrity structures between the two nations. South Korea ranked 30th in 2024 and dropped to 31st last year, its score decreasing from 64 to 63. Although a one-tier gap remains between it and Taiwan, South Korea’s score has been steadily catching up and the country is making rapid progress in improving its integrity.
For Taiwan to undergo a fundamental transformation into a higher level of integrity, the Agency Against Corruption should examine in-depth the constituent sub-indicators of the index so as to identify and address entrenched issues. However, reforms involving social structures and cultural inertia are by no means reversible in the short-term. In recent years, prosecutors, investigators and anti-corruption bodies have worked hard to prosecute allegations of corruption. As such, elected representatives across political parties have been detained and indicted. This phenomenon has given the public the impression that scandals are continuing to surface. Yet it is this enforcement that has won international recognition, demonstrating that legal accountability is being upheld in Taiwan.
I have repeatedly reminded leadership that communication between local leaders, elected representatives and public works bidding must improve to strengthen Taiwan’s integrity, as it is the greatest obstacle preventing Taiwan from surpassing the 70-point mark and advancing into the CPI’s top 20 rankings.
Taiwan’s steadily rising rank in the CPI can be a source of pride for the public. However, if the goal is to make substantial, qualitative advances in its perceived integrity, Taiwan need not initially aspire to the top-tier standards of Nordic countries. Instead, a long-term strategy should begin by drawing on two defining features from Japan — social and cultural pressure and bureaucratic self-discipline. These are precisely the areas in which the government and the public must work together to improve.
Tsao Yao-chun is a researcher with Transparency International Taiwan and an external expert with the Ministry of National Defense on corruption index evaluations of governments.
Translated by Kyra Gustavsen
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