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.
RESPONSE: The transit sends a message that China’s alignment with other countries would not deter the West from defending freedom of navigation, an academic said Canadian frigate the Ville de Quebec and Australian guided-missile destroyer the Brisbane transited the Taiwan Strait yesterday morning, the first time the two nations have conducted a joint freedom of navigation operation. The Canadian and Australian militaries did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The Ministry of National Defense declined to confirm the passage, saying only that Taiwan’s armed forces had deployed surveillance and reconnaissance assets, along with warships and combat aircraft, to safeguard security across the Strait. The two vessels were observed transiting northward along the eastern side of the Taiwan Strait’s median line, with Japan being their most likely destination,
‘NOT ALONE’: A Taiwan Strait war would disrupt global trade routes, and could spark a worldwide crisis, so a powerful US presence is needed as a deterrence, a US senator said US Senator Deb Fischer on Thursday urged her colleagues in the US Congress to deepen Washington’s cooperation with Taiwan and other Indo-Pacific partners to contain the global security threat from China. Fischer and other lawmakers recently returned from an official trip to the Indo-Pacific region, where they toured US military bases in Hawaii and Guam, and visited leaders, including President William Lai (賴清德). The trip underscored the reality that the world is undergoing turmoil, and maintaining a free and open Indo-Pacific region is crucial to the security interests of the US and its partners, she said. Her visit to Taiwan demonstrated ways the
GLOBAL ISSUE: If China annexes Taiwan, ‘it will not stop its expansion there, as it only becomes stronger and has more force to expand further,’ the president said China’s military and diplomatic expansion is not a sole issue for Taiwan, but one that risks world peace, President William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday, adding that Taiwan would stand with the alliance of democratic countries to preserve peace through deterrence. Lai made the remark in an exclusive interview with the Chinese-language Liberty Times (sister paper of the Taipei Times). “China is strategically pushing forward to change the international order,” Lai said, adding that China established the Asia Infrastructure Investment Bank, launched the Belt and Road Initiative, and pushed for yuan internationalization, because it wants to replace the democratic rules-based international
RELEASED: Ko emerged from a courthouse before about 700 supporters, describing his year in custody as a period of ‘suffering’ and vowed to ‘not surrender’ Former Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) chairman Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) was released on NT$70 million (US$2.29 million) bail yesterday, bringing an end to his year-long incommunicado detention as he awaits trial on corruption charges. Under the conditions set by the Taipei District Court on Friday, Ko must remain at a registered address, wear a GPS-enabled ankle monitor and is prohibited from leaving the country. He is also barred from contacting codefendants or witnesses. After Ko’s wife, Peggy Chen (陳佩琪), posted bail, Ko was transported from the Taipei Detention Center to the Taipei District Court at 12:20pm, where he was fitted with the tracking
RSS