Loading...
[Global corruption report 2003] East asia
Lu, Xiaobo
Lu, Xiaobo
Author(s)
Author(s) (Additional)
Illustrator(s)
Producer(s)
Contributor(s)
Contributor(s) (Other)
Editor(s)
Advisor(s)
Contact(s)
Data Collector(s)
Keywords
GE Subjects
Collections
Files
Loading...
n13_East_Asia__Lu_.pdf
Adobe PDF, 91.1 KB
Research Projects
Organizational Units
Journal Issue
Online Access
Abstract
"A revived sense of urgency is driving the anti-corruption struggle in East Asia, motivated by international perceptions and domestic outcry. Public opinion surveys put corruption at the top of the political and economic problems faced by countries in the region. Surveys in South Korea in 2001 showed that eliminating corruption was a priority second only to economic growth,1 while a newspaper in Japan dubbed the country’s ingrained corruption a ‘state of political emergency’. A Chinese poll suggested that citizens viewed corruption as one of the country’s three most serious problems.2 Governments across the region have attempted to clamp down on corruption by drafting new legislation, such as an anti-corruption law in South Korea and the creation of an anti-corruption agency in Taiwan. Identifying the need for broader efforts, Hong Kong’s Independent Commission against Corruption (ICAC) has used anti-corruption messages in media campaigns for several years. Following its lead, China and Taiwan recently put out public service announcements about corruption on TV and radio, as well as on hoardings and in pamphlets. Corruption scandals hit the highest levels of government in 2001–02, and corruption also became a prominent election issue. Where sitting governments made the fight against corruption central to their election platforms, as in South Korea and Taiwan, their credibility was shaken by new allegations of their own involvement in corruption. In South Korea, two of the president’s sons were charged with taking bribes in June 2002; both were later convicted. The president was also forced to make public apologies for the corruption in his administration. There was some recognition by business that it needs to combat corruption with more conviction, but private sector corruption, by and large, was as pervasive as it has been in the past. Bribery in the construction, consulting and insurance industries lay behind many of the scandals that tainted governments in the region in 2001–02. The NGOs and media most vocal about corruption continued to be found in Japan, South Korea and Taiwan. The Chinese government is wary of political opposition and initiates almost all anti-corruption efforts, while little is known of the extent of corruption in the closed society of North Korea."
Note(s)
Topic
Type
Book chapter
Date
2003
Identifier
ISBN
1861974760
DOI
Copyright/License
With permission of the license/copyright holder