What is happening?
Having sought to bolster its international presence through its commitment to democratic values and a strong record of transparency initiatives, Taiwan is now facing an array of corruption scandals. Representatives of all three major parties are currently facing scrutiny from authorities and the general public. As these are developing stories, it remains difficult to fully evaluate the effect of these corruption probes on the future viability of Taiwan’s mainstream parties. It is nevertheless noteworthy that the corruption probes are so wide-ranging, which has the potential to undermine public trust in government institutions.
What is the broader picture?
In July, former Vice Premier Cheng Wen-tsan (鄭文燦) of the Democratic Progressive Party was arrested for alleged corruption during his eight years of service as the Mayor of Taoyuan. This month, Legislator Sra Kacaw (鄭天財) of the Kuomintang was summoned for questioning and his office in the Legislative Yuan was searched as part of a corruption probe. Last but not least, the detention of Ko Wen-je (柯文哲), former mayor of Taipei and chairman of the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP), sent shockwaves across the nation given the unusually high profile of the case.
While it is key to highlight that high-ranking politicians from all three major parties are involved in different corruption probes, the case raised against Ko attracted particular scrutiny. TPP achieved unprecedented electoral success in the January 2024 parliamentary and presidential elections. While Ko did not win the presidency, he gained over 26 percent of votes, a historic high for a third-party candidate. His party also won eight legislative seats, becoming a “critical minority” in the parliament. Notably, Ko centered the promise of “clean politics” within his platform, promising to shun the corrupt money politics of the Blue and Green camps. Ko’s arrest is at least a second major blow to TPP’s corruption-free reputation, after Hsinchu mayor Ann Kao (高虹安) was removed from office and sentenced to prison in late July after she was found guilty of embezzling public funds. Consequently, the future viability of the relative newcomer to the Taiwanese political scene is at stake.
Why does it matter?
Similarly to Central Eastern European countries, Taiwan is considered a third-wave democracy. The process of democratic consolidation, which commenced in late 1990s, allowed Taiwan to become one of the healthiest and most thriving democratic regimes. In the early 2000s, the image of the pan-Green camp (pro-sovereignty parties reluctant to pursue closer engagement with China) faced a dramatic setback due to corruption scandals in the Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) administration, and the issue of clientelism remains a concern in local elections. However, Taiwan’s overall management of political corruption has improved, as reflected by the country’s ranking in Transparency International’s Corruption Perceptions Index – in the most recent edition of the index, it placed 28 globally with a score of 67/100. The ongoing corruption scandals can thus negatively affect Taiwan’s international reputation as a “shining city upon a hill” in terms of transparency and good governance among its peers in the Asia-Pacific region.
The island nation has used its success story of mitigating corruption to expand its international space. The recent Global Cooperation and Training Framework (GCTF) workshops on corruption prevention illustrate this trend. Close to the 20th anniversary of the United Nations Convention against Corruption, Taiwan – which remains excluded from UN frameworks – hosted a workshop to strengthen anti-corruption efforts across the Indo-Pacific region and the world. Consequently, the ongoing corruption probes against politicians from all three mainstream parties will be watched closely not only by voters in Taiwan, but also the international community. It is imperative that the rule of law is upheld and investigations adhere to all relevant regulations and the highest standards of transparency to prevent staining the reputation of Taiwan as a democratic success story.
