Transparency International (TI) will commission a new poll on corruption in Taiwan, an official said yesterday, after the group’s original findings sparked widespread skepticism in the nation.
Transparency International Chinese Taipei (TICT) executive director Kevin Yeh (葉一璋) said the Berlin-based group has agreed to conduct a new poll, although how this will be funded has yet to be determined.
Yeh said TICT is expected to foot most of the bill, but it is discussing the issue with its parent organization in the hope that it will provide some of the funds.
Yeh did not give an estimate of how much a new poll would cost.
TICT is planning to hire an impartial and experienced polling firm to handle the project after discussing issues such as survey methodology and questionnaire structuring with TI, Yeh said.
The non-governmental organization came under fire after its 2013 Global Corruption Barometer report said that 36 percent of people in Taiwan who had used one of eight government services in the past year had paid a bribe.
The report sparked skepticism as the percentage was far higher than the 7 percent and 2 percent figures reported in TI’s 2010 and 2006 reports respectively, the only other times Taiwan was in the survey.
Skepticism was heightened when media found that the firm listed as having conducted the Taiwan survey — Shanghai-based WisdomAsia — denied having done the job.
The Ministry of Economic Affairs has fined Taobao NT$1.2 million (US$36,912) for advertisements that exceed its approved business scope, requiring the Chinese e-commerce platform to make corrections in the first half of this year or its license may be revoked. Lawmakers have called for stricter enforcement of Chinese e-commerce platforms and measures to prevent China from laundering its goods through Taiwan in response to US President Donald Trump’s heavy tariffs on China. The Legislative Yuan’s Finance Committee met today to discuss policies to prevent China from dumping goods in Taiwan, inviting government agencies to report. Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Kuo Kuo-wen (郭國文) said
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Taiwan and its Pacific ally Tuvalu on Tuesday signed two accords aimed at facilitating bilateral cooperation on labor affairs, according to Taiwan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA). The governments inked two agreements in Taipei, witnessed by Foreign Minister Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) and visiting Deputy Tuvaluan Prime Minister Panapasi Nelesone, MOFA said in a news release. According to MOFA, the agreements will facilitate cooperation on labor issues and allow the two sides to mutually recognize seafarers’ certificates and related training. Taiwan would also continue to collaborate with Tuvalu across various fields to promote economic prosperity as well as the well-being of their
Sung Chien-liang (宋建樑), who led efforts to recall Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Lee Kun-cheng (李坤城), was released on bail of NT$80,000 today amid outcry over his decision to wear a Nazi armband to questioning the night before. Sung arrived at the New Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office for questioning in a recall petition forgery case last night wearing a red armband bearing a swastika, carrying a copy of Adolf Hitler’s Mein Kampf and giving a Nazi salute. Sung left the building at 1:15am without the armband and covering the book with his coat. Lee said today that this is a serious