The government should place prevention before prosecution in efforts to battle corruption in the public sector, remarked Premier Jiang Yi-huah at a meeting of the Executive Yuan's Central Integrity Committee (CIC) held today.
"We must start from the organizational culture of government agencies and prevent corruption from occurring in the first place," he said.
After hearing the Ministry of Justice's (MOJ) latest report on the government's anti-corruption efforts, Premier Jiang noted that Taiwan scored 61 on the Corruption Perceptions Index released by Transparency International in December 2013—earning the same score as last year but improving one spot to 36th out of 177 countries. This indicates that perceived levels of corruption remains generally unchanged in Taiwan, said the premier. He urged the Agency Against Corruption (AAC) to continue pushing for progress in its campaign and work for more international recognition.
From the implementation of the National Integrity Building Action Plan in July 2009 through the end of 2013, the rate of confirmed corruption convictions had risen to 75 percent. And from July 2011 when the AAC was established to the end of 2013, the conviction rate in indicted cases reached 100 percent. Premier Jiang gave instructions that the AAC should also be mindful of protecting human rights in the course of rooting out malfeasance.
The MOJ also reported on a new platform for ensuring clean governance in national land protection efforts. Jiang asked the AAC to finalize the establishment of the platform and asked all ministries to lend their support, saying the government will not cease until the problems highlighted in the eco-documentary Beyond Beauty—Taiwan from Above have been addressed.
The Ministry of Transportation and Communications, meanwhile, delivered a report on battling corruption at enterprises fully or partially owned by the state. Jiang said that since most illicit activities at those companies involve government procurement cases, it is important to improve the procurement system and increase its efficacy so as to lower the risk of corruption.
State-owned enterprises should endeavor to improve operating efficiency, in addition to cutting costs and keeping an eye on overhead, Jiang said. For enterprises in which the state holds a partial stake, the government should send more officials there to step up internal monitoring, ensure good governance, and help the companies fulfill their corporate social responsibility.
On the topic of curbing misconduct in foreign aid projects, CIC member Tsai Shiu-chuan suggested that Taiwan build a review and supervision system in conjunction with international nongovernmental organizations, and that anti-corruption performance evaluations be conducted on government agencies. In response, Jiang asked the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to improve transparency in foreign aid programs in line with the principles of "viable diplomacy" and the International Cooperation and Development Act. He also directed the AAC to assess the feasibility of the proposed performance evaluations and present its recommendations to the Executive Yuan.