The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) yesterday accused the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) of involvement in nationwide vote-buying activities for the Jan. 16 presidential and legislative elections, warning that it might file lawsuits after the elections.
“Election day is only 13 days away, and people around the nation have been tipping off [the DPP] about vote-buying activities, especially in Chiayi County, where vote-buying is committed almost publicly,” DPP spokesperson Yang Chia-liang (楊家俍) told a news conference at the DPP’s headquarters in Taipei.
“KMT Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) has repeatedly claimed that he will reform the KMT, but not only has the party assets issue not been resolved, vote-buying is still taking place,” Yang said.
Photo: CNA
The DPP recently received information about a banquet for more than 10,000 people hosted by the KMT’s Hsinchu City Council caucus and an alleged cash-for-votes scheme in Chiayi, said Lien Li-jen (連立堅), executive director of a DPP task force to combat election irregularities, who added that the Changhua County Prosecutors’ Office has launched an investigation into a free tour for voters in Fenyuan Township (芬園) allegedly organized by independent legislative candidate Hsu Yung-chin (許永金).
Lien said that he also suspects the judiciary has been giving vote-buying suspects affiliated with the KMT favorable treatment.
“In the Changhua case, the 400 people who went on the excursion were all questioned and the primary suspect was detained. However, information about the Hsinchu banquet was sent to prosecutors prior to the event, but they did not make a move until images from the event were made public,” Lien said.
In the Chiayi case, Lien said that even though “there were serious charges and cash was found, the suspects were released on bail.”
The Ministry of Justice’s Investigation Bureau busted a case in the county’s Shueishang Township (水上), where two individuals, surnamed Huang (黃) and Lin (林), were suspected of distributing between NT$500 and NT$1,000 per vote to people. Huang was found carrying NT$25,000 in cash, and was quoted by the police as admitting to being involved in vote-buying, while three people were quoted by police as admitting to selling their votes.
However, the Chiayi District Court rejected a request by prosecutors to detain Huang, citing insufficient evidence.
Attorney and DPP legislator-at-large candidate Wellington Koo (顧立雄) said the DPP would continue to collect information on election irregularities, adding that if it finds solid evidence of the KMT’s involvement in vote-buying, it would file lawsuits to revoke elections within 30 days of the Jan. 16 elections.
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