Prosecutors have began investigating vote-buying claims against the Chinese Production Party (CPP), which has been vocal in rallying support for Taipei mayoral candidate Sean Lien (連勝文) of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT).
The Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office said the CPP — a minor political party composed mostly of Chinese spouses married to Taiwanese — is being investigated for apparently paying people who attended campaign rallies and also to induce voters to back Lien on Nov. 29.
Prosecutors said CPP Chairperson Lu Yueh-hsiang (盧月香) allegedly paid NT$1,000 to members who attended a rally for Lien at the Friends of Armed Forces Association Center in Taipei on Oct. 12.
Photo: Wang Yi-sung, Taipei Times
Another inquiry is eyeing the China-based Association of Taiwan Enterprises on the Mainland (全國台灣同胞投資企業聯誼會) and its reported work alongside Lien’s campaign. The group allegedly offered a 50 percent discount on airline tickets for Taiwanese with business interests in China to return to Taiwan to vote for Lien on election day, officials said.
Local media outlets reported that Shanghai Association of Taiwan Chairman Yeh Hui-te (葉惠德) told members at an annual event on Tuesday that arrangements had been made with airline companies to provide discount air tickets for Taiwanese to travel back to their home districts for the election.
KMT Mainland Affairs Director Kuei Hung-chen (桂宏誠) and former Taipei deputy mayor Ou Chin-der (歐晉德), who currently heads Lien’s campaign advisory committee, attended the event, the reports added.
Prosecutors said the cases are being investigated to determine whether vote-buying had taken place and whether there were violations of the Public Officials Election and Recall Act (公職人員選舉罷免法).
Democratic Progressive Party spokesperson Huang Di-ying (黃帝穎) called on prosecutors to investigate in earnest, saying that money and subsidies were being paid out in exchange to support a particular candidate, making the vote-buying violations very clear.
LONG FLIGHT: The jets would be flown by US pilots, with Taiwanese copilots in the two-seat F-16D variant to help familiarize them with the aircraft, the source said The US is expected to fly 10 Lockheed Martin F-16C/D Block 70/72 jets to Taiwan over the coming months to fulfill a long-awaited order of 66 aircraft, a defense official said yesterday. Word that the first batch of the jets would be delivered soon was welcome news to Taiwan, which has become concerned about delays in the delivery of US arms amid rising military tensions with China. Speaking on condition of anonymity, the official said the initial tranche of the nation’s F-16s are rolling off assembly lines in the US and would be flown under their own power to Taiwan by way
FREEDOM OF NAVIGATION: The UK would continue to reinforce ties with Taiwan ‘in a wide range of areas’ as a part of a ‘strong unofficial relationship,’ a paper said The UK plans to conduct more freedom of navigation operations in the Taiwan Strait and the South China Sea, British Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs David Lammy told the British House of Commons on Tuesday. British Member of Parliament Desmond Swayne said that the Royal Navy’s HMS Spey had passed through the Taiwan Strait “in pursuit of vital international freedom of navigation in the South China Sea.” Swayne asked Lammy whether he agreed that it was “proper and lawful” to do so, and if the UK would continue to carry out similar operations. Lammy replied “yes” to both questions. The
‘OF COURSE A COUNTRY’: The president outlined that Taiwan has all the necessary features of a nation, including citizens, land, government and sovereignty President William Lai (賴清德) discussed the meaning of “nation” during a speech in New Taipei City last night, emphasizing that Taiwan is a country as he condemned China’s misinterpretation of UN Resolution 2758. The speech was the first in a series of 10 that Lai is scheduled to give across Taiwan. It is the responsibility of Taiwanese citizens to stand united to defend their national sovereignty, democracy, liberty, way of life and the future of the next generation, Lai said. This is the most important legacy the people of this era could pass on to future generations, he said. Lai went on to discuss
MISSION: The Indo-Pacific region is ‘the priority theater,’ where the task of deterrence extends across the entire region, including Taiwan, the US Pacific Fleet commander said The US Navy’s “mission of deterrence” in the Indo-Pacific theater applies to Taiwan, Pacific Fleet Commander Admiral Stephen Koehler told the South China Sea Conference on Tuesday. The conference, organized by the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), is an international platform for senior officials and experts from countries with security interests in the region. “The Pacific Fleet’s mission is to deter aggression across the Western Pacific, together with our allies and partners, and to prevail in combat if necessary, Koehler said in the event’s keynote speech. “That mission of deterrence applies regionwide — including the South China Sea and Taiwan,” he
RSS