After a number of scandals involving politician's exotic sex lives, a plain old case of bribery seems prosaic. But the alleged collective acceptance of bribes by members of the fourth Legislative Yuan just days before it becomes history is actually the most shocking and certainly the most dangerous. DPP legislators Yeh Yi-jin (
The claims revolve around an amendment under review to the Electronic Game Regulation Law (
Being a whistleblower is not easy and these lawmakers deserve our approbation. They face factional pressure and personal attacks, but they have still stepped up to expose the illegal conduct of their colleagues. Their actions show a moral courage that we were beginning to think was wholly absent from what is probably one of the most venal lawmaking bodies in history.
As everyone knows, many elected representatives and officials at all levels are deeply involved with business conglomerates and the mafia. This is one of the reasons Taiwan is often criticized for its so-called "black-gold politics." The change of ruling party has not in and of itself been sufficient to make this corruption disappear. Exposing corruption is only the start of the process to eradicate it. What it needs is the application of both determination and resources on the government's part.
Previously, during the uproar over the construction of the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant, allegations of accepting bribes have been hurled at a number of lawmakers and government officials. Investigating this alleged corruption, which took place several years ago under the notoriously corrupt KMT regime, is perhaps now impossible. But getting to the bottom of this latest bribery scandal should be well within the capacities of the Ministry of Justice. Effort and determination are needed to show that the day when large-scale bribery could escape criminal investigation and prosecution are past. The crony capitalist corruption that bloomed under the KMT has weakened Taiwan both economically and politically. It is time to show that it can be stamped out. Both those offering and those taking bribes need to be investigated, exposed and prosecuted with the utmost rigor and punished to the limit the law allows.
Voters will of course become even more aware of the need for reform of Taiwan's political system. Everyone realizes the difficulties of legislative reform. However, this is a necessary step for deepening Taiwan's democracy. Only through large-scale restructuring of Taiwan's lawmaking body can the professionalism, good faith, and moral character of legislators replace black-gold politics and salvage the rock-bottom image of Taiwan's representative institutions. Hopefully the collapse of the large majority held in the legislature by the opposition alliance -- which has worked hard to block measures that would make Taiwan's political system less corrupt (readers can guess why) -- in the Dec. 1 elections means that genuine reform might now be possible and the corrupt purged from Taiwan's political life.
After nine days of holidays for the Lunar New Year, government agencies and companies are to reopen for operations today, including the Legislative Yuan. Many civic groups are expected to submit their recall petitions this week, aimed at removing many Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) lawmakers from their seats. Since December last year, the KMT and Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) passed three controversial bills to paralyze the Constitutional Court, alter budgetary allocations and make recalling elected officials more difficult by raising the threshold. The amendments aroused public concern and discontent, sparking calls to recall KMT legislators. After KMT and TPP legislators again
In competitive sports, the narrative surrounding transgender athletes is often clouded by misconceptions and prejudices. Critics sometimes accuse transgender athletes of “gaming the system” to gain an unfair advantage, perpetuating the stereotype that their participation undermines the integrity of competition. However, this perspective not only ignores the rigorous efforts transgender athletes invest to meet eligibility standards, but also devalues their personal and athletic achievements. Understanding the gap between these stereotypes and the reality of individual efforts requires a deeper examination of societal bias and the challenges transgender athletes face. One of the most pervasive arguments against the inclusion of transgender athletes
When viewing Taiwan’s political chaos, I often think of several lines from Incantation, a poem by the winner of the 1980 Nobel Prize in Literature, Czeslaw Milosz: “Beautiful and very young are Philo-Sophia, and poetry, her ally in the service of the good... Their friendship will be glorious, their time has no limit, their enemies have delivered themselves to destruction.” Milosz wrote Incantation when he was a professor of Slavic Studies at the University of California, Berkeley. He firmly believed that Poland would rise again under a restored democracy and liberal order. As one of several self-exiled or expelled poets from
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