The heads of Taiwan's law enforcement agencies yesterday unveiled what they termed an "action initiative" to combat so-called "black gold" (黑金) politics yesterday, hoping to restore public confidence in law and order.
Meeting at the National Police Administration (
After two hours of discussion, the group concluded that a cross-agency commission to be headed by the State Prosecutor-general will take charge of implementing the "action initiative," while other government branches will coordinate closely with law enforcement agencies in the fight against "black gold."
Yeh said the action program not only requires prosecutors nationwide to begin active investigations into organized rings' political and economic relations, but asks them to ensure convictions of the suspects having been investigated.
Yeh said the uniqueness of the program is the level of assistance available from other government agencies -- including the Ministry of Finance (
The word "black" refers to organized crime groups entering the political arena by violent and/or unlawful means, while the word "gold" points to subsequent abuses of political power in pursuit of financial interests. In emphasizing the urgency of the initiative, interior minister Huang pointed out that black gold politics has become the biggest obstacle standing in the way of national development.
Citing the results of a recent national survey, Huang said one out of four people in Taiwan has expressed shame over the situation in Taiwan, where organized crime has repeatedly penetrated into the operations of political and economic power.
"The number of elected officials facing criminal charges is steadily growing and the amount of bad loans at local financial institutions is also rising sharply. If we don't act on the problem, where will our citizens find social justice, and what's the meaning for them in pursuing democracy?" Huang asked.
Opposition and independent critics have consistently blasted the KMT's contribution to "black gold" politics.
Political analyst Chen Ming-tung (
According to Chen, these representatives have at times abused their political power to pressure financial institutions to approve loans to businesses owned by themselves or by their friends and relatives.
It is also common that the representatives press for the passage of bills from which they would personally benefit, Chen said.
Law enforcement agencies have made frequent pledges to combat the corrupt side of Taiwan politics in the past.
In distinguishing the new program, the justice minister stressed yesterday that this program will be more effective given the close coordination among various agencies.
Both Yeh and Huang tried to assure law enforcement officials that pressure from corrupt representatives will not undermine the "black gold" crackdown.
"You do your jobs to investigate every possible occurrence of unlawful acts and I will do my job of taking political responsibility for the investigation. Don't ever worry about undue political intervention because all of you are well backed up by Huang and myself," Yeh said.
Super Typhoon Kong-rey is the largest cyclone to impact Taiwan in 27 years, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said today. Kong-rey’s radius of maximum wind (RMW) — the distance between the center of a cyclone and its band of strongest winds — has expanded to 320km, CWA forecaster Chang Chun-yao (張竣堯) said. The last time a typhoon of comparable strength with an RMW larger than 300km made landfall in Taiwan was Typhoon Herb in 1996, he said. Herb made landfall between Keelung and Suao (蘇澳) in Yilan County with an RMW of 350km, Chang said. The weather station in Alishan (阿里山) recorded 1.09m of
NO WORK, CLASS: President William Lai urged people in the eastern, southern and northern parts of the country to be on alert, with Typhoon Kong-rey approaching Typhoon Kong-rey is expected to make landfall on Taiwan’s east coast today, with work and classes canceled nationwide. Packing gusts of nearly 300kph, the storm yesterday intensified into a typhoon and was expected to gain even more strength before hitting Taitung County, the US Navy’s Joint Typhoon Warning Center said. The storm is forecast to cross Taiwan’s south, enter the Taiwan Strait and head toward China, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The CWA labeled the storm a “strong typhoon,” the most powerful on its scale. Up to 1.2m of rainfall was expected in mountainous areas of eastern Taiwan and destructive winds are likely
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday at 5:30pm issued a sea warning for Typhoon Kong-rey as the storm drew closer to the east coast. As of 8pm yesterday, the storm was 670km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻) and traveling northwest at 12kph to 16kph. It was packing maximum sustained winds of 162kph and gusts of up to 198kph, the CWA said. A land warning might be issued this morning for the storm, which is expected to have the strongest impact on Taiwan from tonight to early Friday morning, the agency said. Orchid Island (Lanyu, 蘭嶼) and Green Island (綠島) canceled classes and work
KONG-REY: A woman was killed in a vehicle hit by a tree, while 205 people were injured as the storm moved across the nation and entered the Taiwan Strait Typhoon Kong-rey slammed into Taiwan yesterday as one of the biggest storms to hit the nation in decades, whipping up 10m waves, triggering floods and claiming at least one life. Kong-rey made landfall in Taitung County’s Chenggong Township (成功) at 1:40pm, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The typhoon — the first in Taiwan’s history to make landfall after mid-October — was moving north-northwest at 21kph when it hit land, CWA data showed. The fast-moving storm was packing maximum sustained winds of 184kph, with gusts of up to 227kph, CWA data showed. It was the same strength as Typhoon Gaemi, which was the most
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