The fairness of Saturday’s presidential and legislative elections is in question after nationwide reports of the improper handling of cases of suspected vote-buying by the police and judiciary, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) said yesterday.
Lee Chin-yung (李進勇), the DPP legislative candidate in Yunlin County’s first district, and Liu Chien-kuo (劉建國), the DPP legislative candidate in Yunlin’s second district, had been on a hunger strike since -Tuesday night in front of the Yunlin District Prosecutors’ Office to protest a raid on Lee’s campaign headquarters in Tuku Township (土庫) earlier that day, which the two claimed was an act of political repression.
Chiang Teh-lung (蔣得龍), chief of the Yunlin District Prosecutors’ Office, said his office had received reports that alleged Chen Wei-teh (陳威德), one of Lee’s campaigners, was involved in election betting prior to raid, adding that the investigation was legal even though the office found no evidence of wrongdoing and did not confiscate any documents.
Photo: Lin Kuo-hsien, Taipei Times
Lee and Liu, who decided to suspend their campaign activities, ended the hunger strike yesterday afternoon after a visit by DPP vice presidential candidate Su Jia-chyuan (蘇嘉全), who urged the two to carry on campaigning.
Yunlin County Commissioner Su Chi-fen (蘇治芬) voiced support for her party comrades, saying that the judiciary was turning a blind eye to prevalent vote-buying in the pan-blue camp to carry out selective enforcement against DPP politicians.
In Chiayi County, another hunger strike ended yesterday as Tsai Chi-fang (蔡啟芳), a former DPP legislator and father of a DPP legislative candidate in the county’s first district, Tsai Yi-yu (蔡易餘), was sent to a hospital at 11am for dehydration and dizziness.
Photo: Lin Kuo-hsien, Taipei Times
Tsai Chi-fang said the local judiciary and police were ignoring vote-buying allegations against the pan-blue camp and he began his hunger strike on Jan. 4 in front of the Chiayi District Prosecutors’ Office.
DPP spokesperson Kang Yu-cheng (康裕成) told a press conference in Taipei that the judiciary’s inaction in the face of widespread vote-buying allegations against the pan-blue camp was unjust.
DPP mayors and commissioners in six cities and counties — Greater Kaohsiung and Greater Tainan, as well as Chiayi, Yunlin, Pingtung and Yilan counties — have issued a joint statement urging fair and stringent investigations into vote-buying, Kang said.
Vote-buying in Greater Taichung, Changhua and Nantou counties has caused great concern, she added.
Commenting on the Yunlin case, DPP lawyer Lin Hung-wen (林鴻文) said the raid was highly questionable and appeared to be unnecessary because the prosecutors did not gather evidence.
Meanwhile, Ho Po-wen (何博文), the DPP legislative candidate for New Taipei City’s (新北市) first district, yesterday said local police used violence against his wife while she was campaigning at a local market in Linkou District (林口) on Tuesday morning.
Chiu Chin-an (邱槿桉), Ho’s wife, said police punched and pushed her, as well as her staffers, because they were campaigning in the same place as President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九), who is seeking a second term.
In response, Tsai Yao-kun (蔡耀坤), director of the New Taipei City Police Department’s Sinjhuang Precinct, said members of Ho’s campaign were asked to keep a distance from the designated point of arrival of the presidential motorcade, which is standard procedure, adding that officers did not use violence.
FIREPOWER: On top of the torpedoes, the military would procure Kestrel II anti-tank weapons systems to replace aging license-produced M72 LAW launchers Taiwan is to receive US-made Mark 48 torpedoes and training simulators over the next three years, following delays that hampered the navy’s operational readiness, the Ministry of National Defense’s latest budget proposal showed. The navy next year would acquire four training simulator systems for the torpedoes and take receipt of 14 torpedoes in 2027 and 10 torpedoes in 2028, the ministry said in its budget for the next fiscal year. The torpedoes would almost certainly be utilized in the navy’s two upgraded Chien Lung-class submarines and the indigenously developed Hai Kun, should the attack sub successfully reach operational status. US President Donald Trump
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) is expected to start construction of its 1.4-nanometer chip manufacturing facilities at the Central Taiwan Science Park (CTSP, 中部科學園區) as early as October, the Chinese-language Liberty Times (the Taipei Times’ sister newspaper) reported yesterday, citing the park administration. TSMC acquired land for the second phase of the park’s expansion in Taichung in June. Large cement, construction and facility engineering companies in central Taiwan have reportedly been receiving bids for TSMC-related projects, the report said. Supply-chain firms estimated that the business opportunities for engineering, equipment and materials supply, and back-end packaging and testing could reach as high as
ALL QUIET: The Philippine foreign secretary told senators she would not respond to questions about whether Lin Chia-lung was in the country The Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Wednesday confirmed that a business delegation is visiting the Philippines, but declined to say whether Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) is part of the group, as Philippine lawmakers raised questions over Lin’s reported visit. The group is being led by Deputy Minister of Agriculture Huang Chao-chin (黃昭欽), Chinese International Economic Cooperation Association (CIECA) chairman Joseph Lyu (呂桔誠) and US-Taiwan Business Council (USTBC) vice president Lotta Danielsson, the ministry said in a statement. However, sources speaking on condition of anonymity said that Lin is leading the delegation of 70 people. Filinvest New Clark City Innovation Park
DEFENSIVE EDGE: The liaison officer would work with Taiwan on drones and military applications for other civilian-developed technologies, a source said A Pentagon unit tasked with facilitating the US military’s adoption of new technology is soon to deploy officials to dozens of friendly nations, including Taiwan, the Financial Times reported yesterday. The US Department of Defense’s Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) is to send a representative to collaborate with Taiwan on drones and military applications from the semiconductor industry by the end of the year, the British daily reported, citing three sources familiar with the matter. “Drones will certainly be a focus, but they will also be looking at connecting to the broader civilian and dual-use ecosystem, including the tech sector,” one source was
RSS