Thursday, March 24, 2011
The China Post
In the eyes of foreign investors, Taiwan’s integrity index surpassed that of South Korea and mainland China, although it fell behind Singapore and Hong Kong.
The findings come from the Political and Economic Risk Consultancy Ltd. (PERC), which compiles strategic business information and risk assessments on Asian countries.
According to the PERC, foreign investors hailing from the U.S., Australia and other countries see Cambodia as the most corrupt, followed by Indonesia and the Philippines.
Taiwan’s corruption index came in at number seven out of the Asian countries evaluated, largely due to the negative perception of the nation’s political leaders as being corrupt – this is best illustrated by former President Chen Shui-bian’s embezzlement scandal.
The government land development issue was cited as an example of current corruption, thus the survey showed that the clean and efficient government President Ma Ying-jeou promised is not yet effective.
The report targeted over 1,700 investors from the U.S., Australia and Asian-Pacific region. Taiwan ranked seven overall, which means it is more corrupt than Singapore, Hong Kong, Japan and Macau, but more honest than South Korea, Malaysia and China.
The survey also compiled the corruption rating of a country’s politicians and civil servants, public institutions and private enterprises. Singapore topped the list for integrity in every category while Taiwan was middling in most.
It is worth noting that South Korea ranked last place in the private enterprise sector, with the report blaming the power monopoly of South Korea’s biggest financial institutions, media, and entertainment enterprises for the poor ranking.
For Taiwan, the survey pointed to political leaders and the government as being the most corrupt. The report notes that Taiwan remains a business risk as it continues to suffer from political corruption exemplified by the embezzlement conviction and imprisonment of former President Chen Shui-bian.
While Ma’s personal conduct has not been called into question, news of judges taking bribes within his administration and the scandal-hit military procurement system have left investors pessimistic and distrustful.
Regarding the survey results, National Taipei University (NTPU) Assistant Professor Chen Yao-hsiang pointed out that when Ma took office, one of his main goals was to establish a clean and efficient government. Thus far this has not had “much effect,” Chen said.
Executive Yuan spokesman Jiang Chi-chen responded that while he respects the results of the survey, to purge corruption and establish a clean and efficient government remains the goal of the ruling party. To do so, the central government is in the process of further developing the Department of Government Ethics, he added.
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