Transparency and Anti-Corruption Efforts in East Asia: An Observation

Abstract

The four selected countries (or economies) in East Asia, namely Japan, Taiwan, South Korea, and China, are marked with disparate pictures of transparency and corruption situations. In terms of well-known transparency or lack of corruption indicators such as the Transparency International’s Corruption Perception Index (CPI) and the World Bank’s Control of Corruption feature in its Worldwide Governance Indicators, Japan is shown to have the most transparent or corruption-free picture, followed by Taiwan, South Korea, and China. It is true that each of these countries or economies had gone through many years and various episodes of corruption incidence involving, for example, former prime ministers of Japan and former presidents of Taiwan and South Korea, but in the last 10 years or so, these East Asian economies have succeeded in getting concrete and meaningful starts in their anti-corruption policies and actions in their respective economies. Even in China where the record of corruption is still high in comparison with the other three East Asian economies, the present China’s leaders have shown serious interest and resolve in their fights against corruption, which have resulted in the punishment of several high-ranking officials. In all, these four East Asian economies could be said to have set good examples for other countries to follow with respect to transparency and anti-corruption efforts.