President Ma Ying-jeou, accompanied by Premier Wu Den-yih (吳敦義), Judicial Yuan President Hau-min Rai (賴浩敏), Control Yuan President Wang Chien-shien (王建煊) , Justice Minister Tseng Yung-fu (曾勇夫), and Agency Against Corruption Director-General Chou Chih-jung (周志榮), on the morning of July 20 attended ceremonies to inaugurate the Ministry of Justice's Agency Against Corruption. The new organization is expected to play an important role in reducing corruption, boosting the conviction rate of those indicted for corruption, and maintaining a clean image for the nation.
In remarks at the event, the president said that his previous experience serving in the Ministry of Justice taught him that the best way to fight corruption is to prevent it from happening in the first place. He added that civil servants should "have no desire to be corrupt, have no need to be corrupt, have no opportunity to be corrupt, and dare not be corrupt." The president elaborated by saying that eliminating the desire to be corrupt is achieved by maintaining an upstanding attitude and steering completely clear of corruption. Eliminating the need to be corrupt refers to ensuring that public servants receive ample compensation so they can resist the temptation, and eliminating the opportunity to be corrupt means to have a comprehensive regulatory and legal framework so that public servants won't dare cross the line. Lastly, he said that to make public servants dare not be corrupt, strict laws must be in place to serve as a deterrent.
President Ma cautioned against focusing too much on prosecuting large numbers of corruption cases and handing down heavy penalties. Instead, prosecutors and other investigation agencies, including the Bureau of Investigation , the National Police Agency, and the Agency Against Corruption, should collect ample and effective evidence before indicting a public servant. This will prove more effective in raising the conviction rate, he said, while it will also better ensure that each case will be dealt with successfully. The Agency Against Corruption, the president explained, is not being created so as to wield a huge sword to prove its legitimacy. Doing so, he said, would not necessarily help to boost the conviction rate. Similarly, the agency's objective will be different from that set out in the previously enacted Anti-Corruption Statute, which sought to deter corruption by providing for the death penalty. Such draconian measures tarnish the image of public servants and impact their morale, and also make it difficult for judges to deliver appropriate verdicts given the inflexibility of the law.
With regard to the future role of the Agency Against Corruption, the president said that the agency will not only crack down on corruption and undertake corruption prevention work, but will also work together with the Anti-Corruption Division of the Investigation Bureau. This division has officials who are specifically tasked with responsibility for anti-corruption work, has prosecutors on staff, and directs the 1,900 ethics units within government organizations throughout the nation. The main objective of the Anti-Corruption Division, President Ma stated, is to carry out corruption prevention work. Normally, ethics officers pay attention to any irregular activities among public servants and also provide supervision and recommendations to their superiors, and thus are able to effectively reduce the rate of corruption, the president said. On the off chance that a case of corruption still occurs, the president noted that officials must "actively uncover corruption, rapidly deal with it, cooperate with investigations, and keep the public informed," and added that the government must not be afraid of airing its dirty laundry in public. He is convinced that this will aid in the future development of government organizations.
President Ma furthermore commented that according to a survey by Transparency International, the foremost non-government organization involved in promoting anti-corruption work and compiling the Corruption Perceptions Index, the 10 least corrupt nations in the world have highly developed economies and exhibit high levels of competitiveness. This points to the close relationship between clean government and national competitiveness, he stated. When Transparency International was established in 1995, Taiwan was ranked 25th internationally, the president said, but later fell to as low as 39th place. However, efforts made over the past three years have helped Taiwan's rating improve to 33rd place. He pledged that the government will continue its efforts in this regard.
The president stressed that the government is presently in the process of handling recent cases of corruption in the judiciary, in hospitals affiliated with the Cabinet-level Department of Health, and among customs officials. He expressed his hope that in the future the Agency Against Corruption and the Control Yuan will work together to help build the ROC into a model for clean government in Asia.