While political interference has been the major obstacle in building the judicial capacity in new democracies, how the judicial sector has gained its independence over the course of democratization deserves more scholarly attention.  By following the history of independence seeking by public prosecutors in Taiwan, this paper examines the reasons for the lag in judicial reforms and explains how progress can eventually be made.  The findings indicate that the whistle-blowing incidents have maintained the impetus of reform, while some structural factors, such as the reform competition among su