In a meeting with former commissioner of Hong Kong's Independent Commission against Corruption (ICAC) Bertrand de Speville yesterday, President Chen Shui-bian (
Speville now runs a private company offering governments and private bodies advice on anti-corruption affairs.
During the meeting Chen repeated that the eradication of official corruption and the shady links between politics and organized crime were his most important campaign promise.
"We hope to set up a Hong Kong-style independent agency to crack down on corruption," Chen told his guest.
For his part, Speville said an anti-corruption agency should be put under the direct jurisdiction of the highest possible executive to avoid the interference of too many political forces.
Speville went on to say that the integration of various anti-corruption units into an independent agency is necessary to ensure its operational efficiency.
The establishment of an anti-corruption administration was a common policy platform of all major competitors in last year's presidential election. Minister of Justice Chen Ding-nan (
But the draft law concerning the establishment of the agency faces opposition resistance in the legislature. Some KMT lawmakers argued that it would be better for the department to be formed under the relatively toothless Control Yuan rather than the more formidable justice ministry. Ministry officials, meanwhile, have complained that the Ministry of Justice Investigation Bureau is said to have resisted the ministry's proposal for the new anti-corruption agency since the new group looks set to co-opt some of the bureau's powers.
But both Minister Chen and the head of the investigation bureau, Wang Kuang-yu (王光宇), denied any such complaints.
After being excluded from the agenda of the legislature several times, the draft law is now in the committee discussion stage and continues to make painfully slow progress.
Taiwan yesterday said it was looking forward to attending an upcoming memorial in Japan to mark the 80th anniversary of the atomic bombing of Nagasaki, a day after the Japanese city said it had retracted its previous decision to not invite Taiwan to the event. The case has been dealt with by Taiwan’s representative office in Fukuoka and the Nagasaki City Government, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said. The ministry would decide who to send to the Aug. 9 event once it receives the invitation, it added. The ministry made the remarks following a Japanese media report on Saturday that said Nagasaki Mayor
LANDMARK: Taiwan and Haiti are set to mark the 70th anniversary of diplomatic relations next year, the president said, adding that the two would deepen bilateral ties President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday pledged continued support for Haiti, particularly in food aid and healthcare, as the Caribbean nation faces ongoing social and economic challenges. Speaking at a meeting with Haitian Minister of Foreign Affairs Jean-Victor Harvel Jean-Baptiste, Lai said Taiwan would step up bilateral cooperation to help improve Haiti’s social infrastructure. Taiwan would continue supporting Haiti through initiatives aimed at improving healthcare, food security and overall development, he said. Taiwan and Haiti are set to mark the 70th anniversary of diplomatic relations next year, the president said, adding that the two nations would continue to support each other and deepen bilateral
UNILATERAL: The move from China’s aviation authority comes despite a previous 2015 agreement that any changes to flight paths would be done by consensus The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) yesterday slammed Beijing for arbitrarily opening the M503 flight route’s W121 connecting path, saying that such unilateral conduct disrespected the consensus between both sides and could destabilize the Taiwan Strait and the wider region. The condemnation came after the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) earlier yesterday announced it “has activated the W121 connecting path of the M503 flight route,” meaning that west-to-east flights are now permitted along the path. The newly activated west-to-east route is intended to “alleviate the pressure caused by the increase of flights,” China’s state-run Xinhua news agency quoted China’s Taiwan Affairs Office
STRONG WINDS: Without the Central Mountain Range as a shield, people should be ready for high-speed winds, CWA weather forecaster Liu Yu-chi said Danas was yesterday upgraded to a typhoon and could grow stronger as it moves closely along the nation’s west coastline, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. Hsinchu and Chiayi cities, Taichung, Tainan and Kaohsiung, as well as Hsinchu, Miaoli, Changhua, Yunlin, Nantou, Chiayi, Penghu and Pingtung counties have canceled work and school today. Work and school in Keelung, Taipei, New Taipei City and Taoyuan, and Yilan, Taitung, Hualien, Kinmen and Lienchiang (Matsu) counties would continue as usual, although offices and schools would be closed in Taoyuan’s Luju (蘆竹), Dayuan (大園), Guangyin (觀音) and Sinwu (新屋) districts. As of 5pm yesterday, the typhoon’s
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