The Presidential Office yesterday said that Kaohsiung Mayor Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜) should take immediate legal action to back up his accusation that President Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) administration had installed a tracking device on his car.
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) presidential candidate yesterday morning said that he and his family have been subjected to monitoring by the Democratic Progressive Party.
“A tracking device might have been installed on my car,” he told reporters after a meeting at the Kaohsiung City Government. “We are sure of it. It is something you can find out when you go to a mechanic for maintenance.”
Photo: CNA
He said he did not immediately speak about the tracking device, because he knew it would create a disturbance.
The information he received is “highly accurate,” even though some people might not believe him, he added.
“I would like to protest the way the state apparatus has been monitoring my family and me,” he said.
The Presidential Office denied having illegally monitored any individuals, saying that politicians should not make unfounded accusations.
Han should immediately press charges and provide evidence to police and prosecutors, as an official investigation would help uncover the truth, Presidential Office spokesman Xavier Chang (張惇涵) said.
Kaohsiung Information Bureau Director-General Anne Wang (王淺秋) said that Han has no plan to press charges, but would conduct searches, take precautionary measures and stay alert.
However, Han has pressed charges against a former city government employee for burglary and invasion of privacy, after receiving official papers from the Kaohsiung District Prosecutors’ Office, Wang said.
The former employee, surnamed Wu (吳), had broken into Han’s office multiple times, she said.
Han had decided to speak out about the suspected state surveillance after receiving multiple tips that he might have been monitored from friends, who cited the burglary and photographs taken of him while abroad, she said.
Han also received information from friends in the intelligence agencies that both of his vehicles and cellphone might have been tracked, the bureau said in a statement.
The Ciaotou District (橋頭) Prosecutors’ Office said that it would do its best to investigate if Han decides to report the case, but can only act after receiving a complaint.
Installing a tracking device on someone’s vehicle could constitute invasion of privacy, it added.
Additional reporting by Su Yung-yao and CNA
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