The Ministry of Justice (MOJ) held a judicial press conference on March 2, 2022 on the results of the latest Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI), which saw Taiwan’s rankings rise to a new high of 25, placing Taiwan first in Asia for anti-bribery, and sixth in the world for the Government Defence Integrity Index (GDI). Minister Tsai Ching-Hsiang of the Ministry of Justice believes that the results further demonstrate the government’s determination to carry out integrity work, and is conducive to creating a quality investment environment and enhancing the nation’s overall competitiveness. In order to continue to improve Taiwan’s performance in the coming years, Director-General Cheng Ming-Chian of the Agency Against Corruption (AAC) proposed to continue the Integrity Awards and expand the promotion of the “Government Procurement Integrity Platform”, and indicated that the AAC would promote the Dispelling the Myth of Abuse of Power for Private Profit and Convenience to People 2.0 and continue the Integrity Platform for Enterprise Services pilot project.

In light of the fact that the CPI is largely based on interviews with foreign investors and businessmen in Taiwan, it focuses on reducing the negative impact of corruption on business activities and preventing improper interactions between the public sector and private business, including bribery and conflict of interest between enterprises and public institutions, and corruption in government procurement and public construction projects. Therefore, to improve Taiwan’s international ranking, the AAC is focusing on three strategies at this stage: The first is to continue holding the “Integrity Awards” to establish a model for the public sector; the second is to promote the “Government Procurement Integrity Platform” to prevent and mitigate risk in major procurement cases, and the last is to launch the pilot project of the “Dispelling the Myth of Abuse of Power for Private Profit and Convenience to People 2.0 - Integrity Platform for Enterprise Services” to create a good and quality investment environment.

The “Integrity Awards” is set up to encourage authorities to self-review integrity measures, epitomizing the commitment of respective ministers and colleagues to clean governance, to present various highlights of clean governance, and to publicly recognize the results and benefits through the participation of external third parties for impartial evaluation. This serves to gain the public’s trust in the integrity and transparency of public agencies and to enhance the impression of clean government.

To safeguard the nation’s major construction projects, the AAC is currently promoting the cooperation between the executive and the judiciary through the “Government Procurement Integrity Platform” mechanism, which upholds the four key tenets of “cross-disciplinary cooperation, public-private collaboration, administrative transparency, and universal supervision”, so that agencies will no longer fight alone. By inviting experts from different fields in the public and private sectors to stand in solidarity with the government, and by adhering to the principles of openness and transparency to eliminate undue interference and pressure, this creates an environment in which civil servants can be courageous and accountable in their duties. This ensures the heads of public agencies and colleagues in the civil service can navigate the country with peace of mind and dedication. Through the Government Procurement Integrity Platform, the AAC and the various agencies can work side by side to continue the shared prosperity of the country. At present, there are 34 projects in the Government Procurement Integrity Platform across the country, 12 projects belonging to the central government and 22 cases to the local government, culminating in the total amount of more than NT$790.5 billion. The official website of the AAC has also set up a special section on the “Government Procurement Integrity Platform” to expand the marketing of successful cases and encourage the various agencies to join the Platform.

On the other hand, the AAC is planning to upgrade the highly rated “Promoting Industrial Development and Enhancing Administrative Efficiency - Dispelling the Myth of Abuse of Power for Private Profit and Convenience to People” series of vendor exchanges and discussion forums with enterprises and foreign businesses to version 2.0. This year, various agencies have been chosen to implement the pilot project for integrity platform for enterprise services, thereby replicating the successful experience of cross-disciplinary cooperation and public-private collaboration in the Government Procurement Integrity Platform. It incorporates the concepts of openness, transparency, and social participation, deepens the exchange and cooperation with corporate organizations, senior executives, competent authorities, academics and experts, and integrates the key strategies and service resources for the development of core industries by competent authorities. This not only empowers the agency in promoting administrative transparency and user-friendly measures, but also helps strengthen the integrity of corporate governance and compliance. This ensures the public and private sectors can work closely together to create a clean and high-quality investment environment, promote the sustainable development of the country and enterprises, and realize the vision of “Clean Government, Transparent Taiwan, and Globally Connected”.