Department of Government Ethics

          Incorruption is the most valuable principle for Taipei City Government (TCG). To state our determination, and to respond to annual “1209 International Anti-Corruption Day” by United Nations, Taipei City Government has been celebrating "International Anti-Corruption Day in Taipei" with a series of activities since 2005. Through collaboration with the private sector, non-governmental organizations, schools, community colleges and anti-corruption volunteers and such, we have been organizing large-scale anti-corruption events to showcase TCG’s achievements on “corruption eradication, corruption prevention and anti-corruption education”. 2012 International Anti-Corruption Day activities, under the theme of “Civil Participating, Crystal Clear Taipei,” starts from April 25th to December 9th, with six events in a row highlighting different aspects. These activities were organized by the TCG, Agency Against Corruption of Ministry of Justice, Ministry of Education, Transparency International Chinese Taipei and community colleges in Taipei City, as well as Department of Government Ethics of TCG, Department of Education of TCG, Taipei City Police Department, Taipei Rapid Transit Corporation, Department of Civil Affairs of TCG, Taipei City Hospital, Department of Information Technology of TCG, Department of Health of TCG, Regional Offices of Taipei City, and many other agencies. Public awareness on the theme was strengthened through advocacy and discussions covering issues on ethics, transparency, and accountability.

         Activities this year comprised six major events, and in this part we include the 4th “I Love Integrity” Speech Contest for Elementary School Students, the 3rd Integrity Camp for Teenagers, the 6th Honest Cup College Debate, and 1209 International Anti-Corruption Day, with exhibitions on achievements of Taipei City community colleges and TCG’s anti-corruption efforts. Events are summarized below:

        2012 The Fourth "I Love Integrity" Speech Contest for Elementary School Students

       In an effort to join an anti-corruption trend among nations and establish a social value of integrity, the Central Integrity Committee of the Executive Yuan has been boosting the “Action Plan for Clean Politics”, which requires government agencies to proactively promote campus integrity and emphasize moral education, so as to implant the idea of political ethics into pupils’ mind. In response to the plan, the Department of Government Ethics and the Department of Education of Taipei City have been cooperating since 2009 in organizing “I Love Integrity” Speech Contest for Elementary School Students to help parents teach and instill values of virtues, such as integrity and morality, in the younger generation during the contest.

       This year, with a major increase in registration due to our supportive parents and teachers, 53 young contestants joined the 4th Contest, which was held at the International Conference Hall on the 10th floor of Taipei Public Library (Main Library) from 9:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. on Aug. 4th, 2012. The panel of judges included Professor Yang Yuyang from National Taipei University of Education, He Guanqing, vice captain of Teacher Lin's Storytelling Team at Taipei Public Library, Jin Shangfang from Little Kangaroo Story-Telling Troupe of the Hsin-Yi Foundation, Sun Chengjie, Director of Puppet Beings Theatre Company, and our representative guests from the Agency Against Corruption, the Transparency International Chinese Taipei and the Department of Education of Taipei City, whose remarks shed light on not only the significance of integrity, but also the positive effect that integrity can bring to the establishment of social integrity and efficiency. Weaving the idea of integrity in their stories, or even amplifying on integrity with their own experiences, pupils all did handsomely well that the top 15 were awarded by Mayor Hau Lungbin in person at the Clean Government Commission of Taipei City on Sep. 25th, 2012. The Contest is widely praised and well received.

        In order to encouraging students to develop virtues of integrity, the Department of Government Ethics has devoted considerable amount of effort into education system, such as holding the “I Love Integrity” Speech Contest for Elementary School Students, the Integrity Camp for high school teenagers, the Honesty Cup College Debate Contest, etc, to raise the awareness of integrity among people from all walks of life in the long term.

        The Third Integrity Camp for Teenagers

        To cultivate character and integrity within teenagers, with an aim to foster a culture of honesty and trust in society by young people, the Department of Government Ethics, the Department of Civil Affairs, and the Department of Education of Taipei City cooperated with the Taipei Rapid Transit Corporation (TRTC) in organizing the third Integrity Camp for Teenagers. It invites 54 outstanding students from municipal, private, and vocational high schools. Through various courses and team activities, it is hoped to build up the sense of integrity among them.

        This year, the 3rd Camp was held at TRTC’s Beitou Resort from Aug. 15th to 17th, 2012. Guan Gaoyue, the Lead Prosecutor of Taiwan High Prosecutors Office, attended the event as the opening guest. In his remarks, “Restore Integrity, Command Respect”; he called on them to seriously consider the value of integrity and thus perform critical roles in building integrity in society. Other guests included Yang Shijin, Deputy Director-General of Agency Against Corruption, He Yajuan, Chief Secretary of Department of Education of Taipei City, Li Meili, District Executive of Beitou District, Liao Xingzhong, Vice CEO of Transparency International Chinese Taipei, and representatives from community colleges in Taipei. They shared with students the importance of honesty and the positive meaning in promoting an honest and upright society.

        In order to developing virtues of integrity, outdoor educational activities and indoor seminars were both arranged. Students visited not only TRTC’s Operation Control Center and Taipei MRT Beitou Workshop, but also Forensic Science Center, Taipei City Police Department. For indoor seminars, interactive teaching methods such as group activities and small group discussions were utilized during the camp. At the end of the camp, each team gave its final presentation on the topic “Integrity”, which impressed the organizers with their respective creativity and the amount of effort that they had put into. Through the activities at the camp, the organizers believe that the participants would develop an interest in exploring public issues like civic responsibilities and upright societies, as well as transferring the value of honesty and trust to their inner faith. They would also spread the message to their family members and peers at school, thus producing positive meanings toward society.

      The Sixth Honesty Cup College Debate Contest of TCG

        For the past six consecutive years, in order to raise students’ awareness in corruption-free policies and system, the Department of Government Ethics of Taipei City has been organizing the Contest for public and private colleges and universities. This year, the Department, for the first time, collaborates with the Ministry of Education on this Contest. The proposition this year is “Establishing Anti-corruption Agencies in Public Educational Institutes Is Necessary”. Throughout the contest, students discuss the connection between campus integrity and clean politics, at the same time collect data, elaborate ideas and articulate discourse. Adopting Oxford-Oregon Type as the debate format, the idea of administrative transparency is expected to be instilled in participants’ mind while proving validity of the issues, and thus make headway into campus.

         The sixth Honesty Cup College Debate Contest of TCG had its grand opening at Soochow University on October 26th, 2012 and lasted for 3 days. Congregating in Taipei City for this three-day competition were finest debaters from National Taiwan University, National Chengchi University, National Tsing Hua University, Shih Hsin University, Fu Jen Catholic University, as well as other public and private colleges and universities. 24 teams from 17 colleges and universities in total competed for championship.
Representatives from Agency Against Corruption of the Ministry of Justice, Transparency International Chinese Taipei, and Soochow University were among the list of guests invited to the event to share the meanings and importance of a clean government and the civic responsibility to fight corruption with all participants.

         In result, the first prize went to National Taiwan Normal University, followed by National Taiwan University, Soochow University, and National Tsing Hua University. While justifying for and against the proposition, speeches presented among opposite sides truly gave insights to the debatable issues.

        Time to Wake up: 1209 International Anti-Corruption Day Public Awareness Campaign in Taipei

     “Time to Wake up”, a Transparency International (TI) promotion video shot in Columbia, Lebanon, Kenya, Hungary and here in Taiwan, depicts a group of people who have forgotten their rights to combat corruption. With the splash onto their faces, TI puts across the idea that the mass public are now awakened to fight against corruption.

        In response to TI’s anti-corruption effort and UN’s International Anti-corruption Day, Taipei City Government held Time to Wake up: 1209 International Anti-Corruption Day Public Awareness Campaign in Taipei at 9:30 a.m. on Dec. 8th at the front gate square of Taipei Zoo. Aside from the Promoting Clean Government and Ethical Society Courses community college final presentations, the exhibition of outstanding transparency measures of the 4th TCG Administrative Transparency Prize, and TI’s anti-corruption video clips, clean government volunteers’ certificates were also awarded; Ifkids Theatre held an anti-corruption rally; TCG Police Bureau and Department of Health introduced their services. We hoped to raise not just the voice of our anti-corruption appeal, but also issues concerning the mass public, such as crime prevention and hygiene. Altogether we made Taipei, the city of vitality, corruption-free, efficient, and friendly.

        Several Taipei’s community colleges participated in 2012 Clean Government and Ethical Society Courses’ Final Presentations & Course Carnival, including Songshan Communitiy College’s “Cultivating PeoPo Online Citizen Journalists & Interviewing the National Effort of Establishing a Clean Government”, Da’an Community College’s “Hand in Hand We PICTURE an Upright Character in Me”, Wanhua Community College’s “We Wanna Be CLEAN” rallies, together with the exhibition of prize-winning transparency measures and TI’s multimedia materials which were both fun and intellectual.

        Moreover, to encourage outstanding clean government volunteers in 2012, we awarded all volunteer team leaders and the leader in chief on the same day with a certificate to thank volunteers that took up the responsibility of keeping the city clean and upright. At the same time, we invited the well-received Ifkids Theatre to hold an anti-corruption rally, “Who’s Knocking on My Door”, and an after-show pop quiz with gifts to celebrate the Day. The Department of Government Ethics of TCG claimed that the purport to organize a series of anti-corruption activities in 2012 was to raise the awareness of a clean government to gather anti-corruptive effort outside of the government.