On improving public transparency
James J. Y. Hsu (許正餘)

The 2023 Democracy Index report, released early this year by the London-based Economist Intelligence Unit, showed that Taiwan retained its top ranking in Asia and ranked 10th globally. Receiving an overall score of 8.92 out of 10, Taiwan is the beacon of democracy in Asia, ahead of Japan, 16th; South Korea, 22nd; Malaysia, 40th; and China, 148th.

On the other hand, in Transparency International’s 2023 Corruption Perceptions Index — the leading global indicator of public sector corruption, which measures government transparency — Taiwan scored 67 and ranked 28 out of 180 countries.

There appears to be a significant disparity between Taiwanese democracy and transparency. It indicates that the rule of law is not as deeply rooted in its society and culture in comparison with democracy and freedom, and public sector corruption has room for improvement.

As this dampens people’s trust in political parties and the judiciary, this might well have been the reason why the public handed a third party leverage in the Legislative Yuan, in an attempt to help discipline the governing party.

The major government institutions responsible for guarding against corruption are the Control Yuan and the Ministry of Justice. As members of the Control Yuan and the Executive Yuan are appointed by the president and presumably from the same party, that could easily defeat their supervisory purpose. Moreover, the president of the Control Yuan — who is more of a symbolic leader — lacks a professional team of investigators and prosecutors to carry out fact-finding tasks.

The minister of justice is the nation’s top cop — the chief law enforcement officer. However, one minister of justice in recent years resigned due to influence peddling.

The opposition’s move to expand their legislative power to tackle corruption might be well intentioned. However, the rush to push new laws has yielded numerous problems; among them, violation of the Constitution and checks and balances — the very foundation of democracy. It cannot be overemphasized that the rule of law is more than just a law of rules.

Last week’s Constitutional Court meeting to review controversial legislation has demonstrated the court’s ability to seek truth and facts. The public can expect the court to articulate persuasive reasons. It is a blessing to have such a bedrock to uphold the rule of law and constitutional governance.

Moreover, the detention last week of one of the most prominent politicians in the green camp shows the determination of the newly appointed minister of justice to pursue corruption regardless of party affiliation. Once it is clear that the Ministry of Justice can handle the truth, it would be a giant step forward for the rule of law and for shaping the political arena.

After these recent political events, it is interesting to note that a survey of young voters aged 20 to 24 showed a sharp increase — more than 25 percentage points — in support for the president. While the youth group played a role in giving the opposition parties a majority in the Legislative Yuan to check on the administration, they are smart and mature enough to place democracy and the rule of law above party affiliation.

It is clear the future of democratic Taiwan is in the hands of young people. As former US Supreme Court justice Felix Frankfurter said: “In a democracy, the highest office is the office of citizen.”

James J. Y. Hsu is a retired professor of theoretical physics.
This article was originally published in Taipei Times Editorial: https://www.taipeitimes.com/News/editorials/archives/2024/07/19/2003820997