The Ministry of the Interior (MOI) said yesterday it would give a progress report on vote-buying cases linked to Saturday’s local government elections at the legislature today, an announcement that drew mixed reactions.
The pan-blue camp said it hoped the ministry would increase its efforts to expose illegal campaign practices, while pan-greens doubted the effectiveness of the crackdown.
The ministry said the authorities uncovered 701 people involved in 101 cases of vote-buying between Sept. 1 and Thursday, as well as 39 people connected with 27 cases of election-related violence.
During this period, the ministry said it mobilized 108,791 police officers and 9,181 civilians nationwide to uncover vote-buying. It also mobilized 172 police officers to provide personal protection to 124 candidates and their families.
The ministry said more than 20,000 police officers would be deployed to maintain order at the polls and deal with emergencies on election day.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Policy Committee chief executive Lin Yi-shih (林益世) said the numbers were not as important as what the public feels about the government’s efforts to reduce vote-buying. He said he hoped the ministry would increase its efforts during the final week of the campaign.
Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Policy Committee chief executive Ker Chien-ming (柯建銘) said the vote-buying situation was very severe. The fact that the number of vote-buying cases dramatically exceed the numbers reported by the ministry shows that the KMT administration has not fully dedicated itself to uncovering vote-buying, he said.
Meanwhile, DPP Chairperson Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) panned President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) yesterday over heightened security measures on his trips to campaign for KMT candidates in his role as KMT chairman, saying the security efforts inconvenienced the public.
The Chinese-language Apple Daily reported yesterday that as Ma’s convoy was rushing from Hsinchu County to Taipei’s Songshan Airport for a flight to Chiayi for a campaign event, a loudspeaker was used to tell cars ahead of the convoy to stay clear of the passing lane. At the time, the section of the freeway was completely jammed because of an accident, the report said.
“Ma is trying to help candidates from his party get elected, but heightened security measures are defeating that purpose, because they cause inconvenience to the public and unequal competition,” Tsai said in Nantou County as she campaigned for the DPP’s candidate for the Nantou legislative by-election.
“This will only upset voters and result in a loss of support [for KMT candidates],” she said.
Former premier Frank Hsieh (謝長廷), meanwhile, urged Ma to stop “acting like an emperor making inspection tours.”
“Nobody would say anything if he had been equally anxious to help the victims when Typhoon Morakot,” Hsieh said. “But he acted like he was on vacation back then. He is only so anxious when campaigning for his party’s candidates.”
Presidential Office spokesman Wang Yu-chi (王郁琦) apologized for the inconvenience caused by the presidential convoy. He said the convoy had driven in the passing lane rather than the shoulder because the shoulder was narrower and could have been more dangerous to use.
Security measures for Ma during his campaign trips have caused controversy before.
Last Tuesday, police and National Security Bureau agents blocked DPP Hsinchu County commissioner candidate Peng Shao-chin (彭紹瑾) and his supporters from using a street that Ma and KMT commissioner candidate Chiu Ching-chun (邱鏡淳) were going to parade along. Peng’s supporters protested and the two sides clashed. A reporter on the scene also alleged the police harassed him ahead of Ma’s arrival.
In other election-related developments, the KMT said yesterday it would focus its efforts on winning in Yilan and Hsinchu counties on Saturday.
Ma, Vice Premier Eric Chu (周立倫) and Taichung Mayor Jason Hu (胡志強) visited Yilan County last night to campaign for Yilan County Commissioner Lu Kuo-hua (呂國華), who is running for re-election. The trio have become known as “Ma-li-chiang” (“high horsepower,” 馬立強) for being the three most popular members of the party.
Ma will visit both Yilan and Hsinchu counties later this week to campaign for Lu and Hsinchu County commissioner candidate Chiu Ching-chun (邱鏡淳).
“Chairman Ma will spend more time in Yilan and Hsinchu this week to secure victory in the two counties,” KMT Secretary-General Chan Chun-po (詹春柏) said.
The KMT took Yilan County from the DPP four years ago, and the party is sparing no effort to try and win in Yilan, which had been governed by the DPP for 24 years.
Chiu faces competition from independent candidate Chang Pi-chin (張碧琴), who left the KMT to run, and has received support from Hsinchu County Commissioner Cheng Yung-chin (鄭永金).
Ma visited Yunlin County yesterday to campaign for KMT candidate Wu Wei-chi (吳威志) amid protests from DPP supporters upset by police and security officials blocking the roads to pave the way for Ma.
Ignoring the protest, Ma accused Yunlin County Commissioner Su Chih-fen (蘇治芬) of involvement in corruption scandals, and called on supporters to vote for Wu.
“Yunlin deserves a change, and the county will only be better if it changes the commissioner and the party,” the president said.
The Dec. 5 vote will be the first major election to cover all parts of the country since Ma took office in May last year.
People can preregister to receive their NT$10,000 (US$325) cash distributed from the central government on Nov. 5 after President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday signed the Special Budget for Strengthening Economic, Social and National Security Resilience, the Executive Yuan told a news conference last night. The special budget, passed by the Legislative Yuan on Friday last week with a cash handout budget of NT$236 billion, was officially submitted to the Executive Yuan and the Presidential Office yesterday afternoon. People can register through the official Web site at https://10000.gov.tw to have the funds deposited into their bank accounts, withdraw the funds at automated teller
PEACE AND STABILITY: Maintaining the cross-strait ‘status quo’ has long been the government’s position, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Taiwan is committed to maintaining the cross-strait “status quo” and seeks no escalation of tensions, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) said yesterday, rebutting a Time magazine opinion piece that described President William Lai (賴清德) as a “reckless leader.” The article, titled “The US Must Beware of Taiwan’s Reckless Leader,” was written by Lyle Goldstein, director of the Asia Program at the Washington-based Defense Priorities think tank. Goldstein wrote that Taiwan is “the world’s most dangerous flashpoint” amid ongoing conflicts in the Middle East and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. He said that the situation in the Taiwan Strait has become less stable
CONCESSION: A Shin Kong official said that the firm was ‘willing to contribute’ to the nation, as the move would enable Nvidia Crop to build its headquarters in Taiwan Shin Kong Life Insurance Co (新光人壽) yesterday said it would relinquish land-use rights, or known as surface rights, for two plots in Taipei’s Beitou District (北投), paving the way for Nvidia Corp to expand its office footprint in Taiwan. The insurer said it made the decision “in the interest of the nation’s greater good” and would not seek compensation from taxpayers for potential future losses, calling the move a gesture to resolve a months-long impasse among the insurer, the Taipei City Government and the US chip giant. “The decision was made on the condition that the Taipei City Government reimburses the related
FRESH LOOK: A committee would gather expert and public input on the themes and visual motifs that would appear on the notes, the central bank governor said The central bank has launched a comprehensive redesign of New Taiwan dollar banknotes to enhance anti-counterfeiting measures, improve accessibility and align the bills with global sustainability standards, Governor Yang Chin-long (楊金龍) told a meeting of the legislature’s Finance Committee yesterday. The overhaul would affect all five denominations — NT$100, NT$200, NT$500, NT$1,000 and NT$2,000 notes — but not coins, Yang said. It would be the first major update to the banknotes in 24 years, as the current series, introduced in 2001, has remained in circulation amid rapid advances in printing technology and security standards. “Updating the notes is essential to safeguard the integrity
RSS