President Ma Ying-jeou met on the afternoon of January 29 with a group headed by Director Mark Pyman of Transparency International's Defence and Security Programme. The president, on behalf of the government and people of the ROC, welcomed the group to Taiwan and briefed them on the government's successes in its anti-corruption efforts and promotion of clean government.
In remarks, the president stated that Transparency International is the world's best-known organization in the field of anti-corruption research. The president said that Transparency International's selection of Taiwan as the place to release its global Government Defence Anti-Corruption Index (GDAI) report makes him deeply proud and pleased.
President Ma stated that Transparency International, which was established in the early 1990s in Berlin, has made considerable achievements over the years in its efforts to promote anti-corruption work throughout the world. The organization each year releases the Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI), which serves as one of the most important benchmarks for other international organizations in rating a nation's level of corruption, and also sets forth objectives for countries to aspire to, he said. The president added that while for economists the acronym "CPI" refers to a consumer price index, for people who are concerned with anti-corruption, this acronym refers to Transparency International's Corruption Perceptions Index. Both of these indices are extremely important measures of development for a nation, he noted.
President Ma also pointed out that Taiwan has worked hard for several decades to achieve democracy, and the ROC is now widely acknowledged as a democratic nation, but democracy cannot be without rule of law, and clean and efficient government is crucial to the enforcement of the law. Otherwise, he asserted, all talk of democracy and the rule of law degenerates into empty rhetoric, and the trust of the people cannot be won.
The president explained that as Minister of Justice from 1993 to 1996 he worked actively to fight corruption and ensure clean government. At the same time, he said, he promoted the idea that "a government's greatest asset is the trust placed in it by the people, while corruption corrodes this trust the most." This stance, he added, emphasizes that competitiveness can only be achieved through clean government. Consequently, clean government is an important objective of the ROC government, he commented.
President Ma stated that in the GDAI report just released in Taiwan, Transparency International focuses solely on corruption in the defense sector. This is a brand new approach, with countries scored in such areas as political risk, personnel risk, and procurement risk, he said. The president remarked that the strong rating of Taiwan shows the government is fighting corruption more meticulously and with increasing effectiveness. In addition, he noted, the index shows that Taiwan's Ministry of National Defense (MND) corruption risk rating was listed in "Band B," indicating "low risk." This puts Taiwan in the top 10% internationally, he said. Although this result is outstanding, President Ma expressed confidence that Taiwan can do even better.
The president pointed out that when the ROC government began establishing ethics departments in the 1990s, regulations exempted defense and educational entities from requirements to set up such bodies. President Ma remarked that, as Minister of Justice at that time, he felt the exemptions were not ideal, but at that early stage it was only possible to concentrate on other areas. The president noted that the MND on January 1 of this year formally established an Ethics Office, as well as an Inspector General Office, thus creating an "interlocking fire" network to monitor for corrupt practices in the defense establishment. He stated that this approach will prove more effective in preventing corruption, and hailed this as an important step in the history of government ethics in the ROC.
President Ma also quoted Britain's Lord Acton, who in the 19th century stated, "Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely." He stressed that any government agency can fall prey to corruption, and therefore it is necessary to oversee government agencies to make sure they are truly clean. The MND has now established the Ethics Office, he stated, furthermore explaining that other government organizations must also adopt all types of mechanisms in pursuit of the twin goals of transparency and accountability.
The president stated when the National Revolutionary Army staged its Northern Expedition in 1926, it trumpeted the slogan "no corruption, no fear of death, love of nation, and love of the common people." The "no corruption" phrase in this slogan constitutes the most fundamental element in military discipline, he said. This demonstrates that the ROC military nearly a century ago already placed great importance on operating in a clean manner. Today, the military still maintains this outstanding tradition and acts in accordance with this noble precept, the president stated. President Ma stated that when he visited the ROC Military Academy, he saw reference to the four pillars of that original slogan throughout the campus, which he said he found very moving. The president expressed hope that these values will always remain in place.
President Ma also mentioned that the Ministry of Justice has commissioned Transparency International Taiwan to carry out a survey to assess the degree of corruption in the civil service here. The results showed that the military was the fourth cleanest branch of government in 2011, up from sixth in 2010, and its ranking further rose to second place last year, he stated. The president said he is confident that the military will win even greater trust from the people if it continues to cut down on corruption.
Looking ahead, the president stressed that the Ministry of Justice has established the Agency Against Corruption and has been implementing a so-called "four no's" movement designed to ensure that each individual "has no desire to be corrupt, has no need to be corrupt, has no opportunity to be corrupt, and won't dare to be corrupt." In the future, he said, the government will continue to promote anti-corruption work and efforts to forge clean government in order to realize its pledge to the public.
The delegation included Transparency International Taiwan Chair Edward Huang (黃榮護) and Executive Director Kevin Yeh (葉一彰). The group was accompanied to the Presidential Office by Minister of National Defense Kao Hua-chu (高華柱) and Minister of Justice Tseng Yung-fu (曾勇夫) to meet President Ma. Also attending the meeting was National Security Council Advisor Chang Ji-ping (張濟平).