Taiwan hopes to emulate Hong Kong in fighting corruption and improve an image tarnished by a massive corruption case centred on the island's former leader, Chen Shui-bian, according to Justice Minister Wang Ching-feng.
'In terms of success in fighting corruption, Hong Kong is always mentioned,' Ms Wang said. 'So is Singapore. I hope one day when people talk about cracking down on corruption, they will think of Taiwan.'
Tasked with cleaning up corruption and ensuring clean government, the 57-year-old former lawyer and women's rights activist told the South China Morning Post that she was pushing for the formation of an agency similar to Hong Kong's Independent Commission Against Corruption.
'We are stepping up efforts to combine the anti-corruption department of the Investigation Bureau and the civil service ethics department of the Justice Ministry,' Ms Wang said.
She said she had pushed the idea since she was appointed by President Ma Ying-jeou as Taiwan's first female justice minister last May. But there had been concern that the two organisations might not be able to overcome their entrenched interests and work together.
Ms Wang said a clean government was one of Mr Ma's core policies. 'In order to stamp out corruption, all officials must be clean and all government measures must be precise, objective and transparent to prevent anyone from making illicit profits,' she said.
The public must be taught that they cannot give 'red packets' or under-the-table money to officials in exchange for favours or influence.
