Due to COVID-19, Transparency International held the 19^th International Anti-corruption Conference online for the first time, where the public could participate free of charge. Conducted in cooperation with the Anti-corruption and Civil Rights Commission of Korea, the conference took place between Nov. 30 and Dec. 5, 2020. The activities included six seminars, over 100 workshops, and the 2020 Anti-Corruption Awards Ceremony.

The vice chair of Transparency International presided over the opening of the conference. The managing director of World Bank, managing director of International Monetary Fund, president and chairperson of Asian Development Bank, secretary-general of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, president of World Economic Forum, and secretary-general of the United Nations all attended the opening ceremony and respectively elaborated on the anti-corruption measures taken by their organizations.

Through attending the six seminars and fifteen workshops, the Agency Against Corruption learned about the anti-corruption measures taken across the globe, the perspectives of sustainable development goals, and important projects for the future. Moreover, a greater understanding was obtained on the corruption risks that heightened as a result of COVID-19 and its impact on public confidence in the government, social cohesion, and national stability. At the same time, the agency was also able to rethink the significance of adopting transparency to fight illegal activities and engaging in practical cooperations with the governments of other countries, with purpose of improving upon the problems that the nation is currently encountering.

It is generally agreed among various sectors that, in the decade leading up to 2030, corruption will not exist solely in a single country, or in either the public or private sector. Hopefully, through the intensive exchange of ideas via public and private networks in international society, the sharing of the values of integrity and trust, and the perfection of legal and transparent monitoring systems, combined with the promotion of cross-disciplinary collaboration and the suitable application of new technologies in anti-corruption work, it will be possible to achieve the goal of building a society that is transparent and full of integrity and trust.

In the future, the Agency Against Corruption will continue to exhibit its determination in actualizing “clean government, transparent Taiwan, international integration” through identifying direction of social development, increasing anti-corruption energy in the country, and effectively enforcing anti-corruption regulations and policies, thereby showing the achievements of good and honest governance to the people in the country and making Taiwan a cleaner and more competitive nation.