Ministry of Justice Investigation Bureau
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The Ministry of Justice Investigation Bureau (MJIB; ) is a criminal-investigation and counter-intelligence agency reporting under the
Ministry of Justice A Ministry of Justice is a common type of government department that serves as a justice ministry. Lists of current ministries of justice Named "Ministry" * Ministry of Justice (Abkhazia) * Ministry of Justice (Afghanistan) * Ministry of Just ...
of the Republic of China (
Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...
). The agency is run by the Director-General which is accountable to the cabinet level minister, Minister of Justice. MJIB is a National Member of
Egmont Group of Financial Intelligence Units The Egmont Group of Financial Intelligence Units is an international organization that facilitates cooperation and intelligence sharing between national financial intelligence units (FIUs) to investigate and prevent money laundering and terroris ...
and
Asia/Pacific Group on Money Laundering The Asia/Pacific Group on Money Laundering (APG) is a FATF style regional inter-governmental (international) body, the members of which are committed to effectively implementing the international standards against money laundering (AML), the fi ...
.


History

The Bureau of Investigation was established in 1928. Initially, it was called
Central Bureau of Investigation and Statistics The Central Bureau of Investigation and Statistics (CBIS) ), commonly known as Zhongtong (), was an intelligence unit under the Central Executive Committee of the Kuomintang. It was one of Chiang Kai-shek's two police and military intelligence agenc ...
subordinated to the Central Executive Committee of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT). During that time, it was nicknamed "Zhong-Tong" ( :zh:中統), meaning Central-Statistics. In 1930s and 1940s, it carried the responsibilities of intelligence-gathering and counter-intelligence. By 1949 the bureau was formally established into a government agency and assigned to the
Ministry of the Interior An interior ministry (sometimes called a ministry of internal affairs or ministry of home affairs) is a government department that is responsible for internal affairs. Lists of current ministries of internal affairs Named "ministry" * Ministr ...
. In 1956, the agency was transferred to the Ministry of Judicial Administration( :zh:司法行政部) and took over most of the counter-intelligence duty in Taiwan. In 1980 the agency was re-designated to the current
Ministry of Justice A Ministry of Justice is a common type of government department that serves as a justice ministry. Lists of current ministries of justice Named "Ministry" * Ministry of Justice (Abkhazia) * Ministry of Justice (Afghanistan) * Ministry of Just ...
. During the martial law period under the KMT dictatorship the Investigation Bureau managed tens of thousands of informants across Taiwan. In 2021 a report commissioned by Taiwan’s
Transitional Justice Commission The Transitional Justice Commission (TJC; ) was an independent government agency of the Republic of China (Taiwan) active from 31 May 2018 to 30 May 2022 based on the Act on Promoting Transitional Justice. The commission is responsible for the i ...
into the Investigation Bureau’s use of informants during the martial law period was published. Due to its historic background, initially all its field offices were to remain anonymous but later this tradition had been reviewed and decided that all units of MJIB are now transparent and accountable. Although it is a law enforcement agency, MJIB still exercises intelligence-gathering responsibilities but the focus is mainly on Taiwan. In September 2020 the American
Federal Bureau of Investigation The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic intelligence and security service of the United States and its principal federal law enforcement agency. Operating under the jurisdiction of the United States Department of Justice, ...
thanked the Ministry of Justice Investigation Bureau for providing key information that led to the indictment of five Chinese hackers linked to APT-41, also known as the Winnti Group. While investigating breaches at three Taiwan based companies the Investigation Bureau discovered an APT-41 node operating on US soil and contacted their American counterparts to coordinate action against the Chinese hackers. In December 11 2020, the bureau caught three Taiwanese who worked for Chinese intelligence. They were spreading propaganda about how Taiwan and the US were trying to overthrow the Thailand monarchy supporting the democracy protesters. The case is important because firstly it is the first Internet-related national security case the bureau investigated. And secondly it is the first time it has been documented that China has successfully recruited Taiwanese to work as paid online agents of its cyberarmy.


Mission

Since 30 October 1998, the MJIB function has been redefined by an
Executive Yuan The Executive Yuan () is the executive branch of the government of the Republic of China (Taiwan). Its leader is the Premier, who is appointed by the President of the Republic of China, and requires confirmation by the Legislative Yuan. ...
decree. The bureau has nine missions: # Counter any internal disorder. # Counter any disorder caused by foreigners. # Counter any leak of national classified material. # Anti-Corruption of any civil service. # Drug control. # Prevent any organized criminal organization. # Counter any major economic crime. # State's Internal Security Investigation. # Any delegated missions or assignments regarding national security and national interests.


Chain of command

Administratively, MJIB is answerable to the Minister of Justice. As a result, all public procurators at all level are able to direct the human resource of MJIB. Operationally, MJIB is subjected to the coordination and supervision of National Security Bureau. Naturally, the director of MJIB could be summoned by the Taiwan President for consultant because of MJIB's eighth and ninth missions of responsibility in Taiwan.


References


External links


Bureau of Investigation (TAIWAN)



The Investigator Association for the reform of National Bureau of investigation
1928 establishments in China Law enforcement agencies of Taiwan Taiwanese intelligence agencies Domestic intelligence agencies {{Taiwan-gov-stub