A report by a Hong Kong consulting firm shows that public perception of the government has improved, the Ministry of Justice said yesterday.
However, while Taiwan’s overall score improved, it lagged behind its Asian peers Singapore and Hong Kong, the report showed.
The 2010 Asian Corruption Survey by Political & Economic Risk Consultancy (PERC) ranked corruption perception levels in 16 Asian countries on a scale of zero to 10, with 10 as the worst.
Taiwan scored 6.28 — up from last year’s 6.47 — and ranked eighth — up one notch, in terms of political cleanliness.
Civil servants performed better than politicians in the survey, the justice ministry said in a statement. Civil servants working for the central government scored 5.4, while local government workers scored 4.49. City officials tallied 7.53, while national leaders received 8.07.
The ministry, quoting the report, said that corruption remained a problem in Taiwan. However, it said the government has made fighting corruption a priority.
The report said the corruption scandal involving former president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) and his family, as well as vote buying in local elections, were the main reasons why politicians had negative corruption perception ratings.
Singapore remained the least corrupt with a score of 1.42, while Australia was second with 2.28 and Hong Kong third with 2.67. The US — included for comparison purposes — placed fourth with a score of 3.42, while China had 6.52.
“Measuring the level of corruption [in China] is nothing more than guesswork,” PERC said.
“What is fairly clear is that the problem of corruption is more severe at the local level of government and business, particularly state-owned enterprises, than at the national level, although there are plenty examples of graft at the national level too,” it said.
It said Hong Kong’s drop could be caused by to questionable tactics by property developers.
“There are still criticisms of some practices, particularly in the real-estate sector, concerning tactics used by developers that, to be generous, play on a lack of transparency that would not be allowed in many other markets,” PERC said.
Indonesia remained the most corrupt country in the region and graft was getting even worse, PERC said, adding that lawmakers’ call for a criminal probe into the government’s bailout of Bank Century in 2008 reflected attempts by a corrupt establishment to maintain the status quo.
“Corruption has become a charge being used by corrupt people to protect themselves and to stifle reform,” PERC said. “The whole fight against corruption is in danger of being corrupted.”
The report surveyed 2,174 foreign business executives in 16 countries. Rankings are based on a survey in which respondents are asked to rate the level of corruption based on their impressions. The report emphasized that it measured perceptions of corruption rather than the actual level of corruption.
PROVOCATIVE: Chinese Deputy Ambassador to the UN Sun Lei accused Japan of sending military vessels to deliberately provoke tensions in the Taiwan Strait China denounced remarks by Japan and the EU about the South China Sea at a UN Security Council meeting on Monday, and accused Tokyo of provocative behavior in the Taiwan Strait and planning military expansion. Ayano Kunimitsu, a Japanese vice foreign minister, told the Council meeting on maritime security that Tokyo was seriously concerned about the situation in the East China and South China seas, and reiterated Japan’s opposition to any attempt to change the “status quo” by force, and obstruction of freedom of navigation and overflight. Stavros Lambrinidis, head of the EU delegation to the UN, also highlighted South China Sea
The final batch of 28 M1A2T Abrams tanks purchased from the US arrived at Taipei Port last night and were transported to the Armor Training Command in Hsinchu County’s Hukou Township (湖口), completing the military’s multi-year procurement of 108 of the tanks. Starting at 12:10am today, reporters observed more than a dozen civilian flatbed trailers departing from Taipei Port, each carrying an M1A2T tank covered with black waterproof tarps. Escorted by military vehicles, the convoy traveled via the West Coast Expressway to the Armor Training Command, with police implementing traffic control. The army operates about 1,000 tanks, including CM-11 Brave Tiger
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), the world’s largest contract chipmaker, said it expects its 2-nanometer (2nm) chip capacity to grow at a compound annual rate of 70 percent from this year to 2028. The projection comes as five fabs begin volume production of 2-nanometer chips this year — two in Hsinchu and three in Kaohsiung — TSMC senior vice president and deputy cochief operating officer Cliff Hou (侯永清) said at the company’s annual technology symposium in Silicon Valley, California, last week. Output in the first year of 2-nanometer production, which began in the fourth quarter of last year, is expected to
Taiwan’s drone exports surged past US$100 million in the first quarter, exceeding last year’s full-year total, with the Czech Republic emerging as the largest buyer, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said. Exports of complete drones reached US$115.85 million in the period, about 1.2 times the total recorded for all of last year, the ministry said in a report. Exports to the Czech Republic accounted for about US$100 million, far outpacing other markets. Poland, last year’s top destination, recorded about US$11.75 million in the first quarter. Taiwan’s drone exports have expanded rapidly in the past few years, with last year’s total
RSS