International surveys and domestic polls alike testify that the government's anti-corruption efforts in recent years have produced overall improvement, Premier Chang San-cheng stated today while presiding over the central anti-corruption committee's 16th meeting.
The premier made this statement after a briefing by the Ministry of Justice (MOJ) on the current anti-corruption situation and analysis. Chang enjoined the ministry to continue building on its accomplishments and to pass on its plans to the incoming administration.
The MOJ stated that in Transparency International's Corruption Perceptions Index 2015, released at the end of January this year, Taiwan ranked 30th out of 168 nations and territories, moving up five places from the previous year and improving its standing for the third consecutive year.
In addition, the ROC was ranked with Australia, Japan and Singapore in the B category (meaning low corruption risk) in Transparency International Chinese Taipei's "2015 Asia-Pacific National Defense Anti-corruption Index" published in November 2015. The ROC trailed only New Zealand, which was placed in the A category (very low corruption risk).
The prosecution rate for corruption cases has been on the decline since 2008 (with the exception of 2014, when the rate rose because military cases were transferred to the district prosecutorial offices) while the conviction rate has increased in proportion, the MOJ noted. Following the enforcement of the National Integrity Building Action Plan in July 2009, the conviction rate for corruption cases had reached 71.73 percent as of the end of December 2015.
Concerning the MOJ's report on the accomplishments and prospects of the National Integrity Building Action Plan, the premier directed the ministry to work in tandem with relevant agencies to review the plan's implementation and incorporate future improvement measures and directions into the handover report for the incoming administration.
Noting that this would be his only time chairing the central anti-corruption committee meeting, Chang called upon committee members from non-government agencies to continue to support the committee and to pass along their experience to the incoming administration in order to continue the work of enhancing various anti-corruption measures and fostering a clean and effective government.