The legislature's Home and Nations Committee yesterday finished a preliminary review of a proposed amendment to the Public Officials Elections and Recall Law (公職人員選舉罷免法) to fight the problem of vote-buying in primary ballots held by political parties.
The plan is to include this proposal on Thursday's agenda for the Legislative Yuan.
Under the amendment, vote-buying in party primaries would be penalized by the same standards as those that apply to the election of public officials.
People engaging in vote-buying in primaries could face imprisonment of up to five years and fines of up to NT$6 million. Those who do so for profit -- such as the go-between in a vote-buying deal -- could face imprisonment of up to seven years and fines of up to NT$5 million.
"At present, law-enforcement authorities are not empowered to investigate vote-buying practices in party primaries. There would be a legal basis to conduct such investigations after the amendment," said DPP Legislator Chang Ching-fang (
Chang said the DPP is seeking to have the amendment passed as soon as possible, so that it could be put into force by April 1.
The DPP is set to hold a primary ballot of party members on April 1 as part of a procedure to decide its nominees for the year-end legislative elections.
Chang was among a group of 31 DPP legislators who first raised the proposal to amend the law last week, following reports suggesting rampant vote-buying practices in campaign activities leading up to the primary ballot.
Chang noted that the problem of vote-buying had in fact already occurred in primary ballots held by the DPP in the past, but that the lack of investigative power had always been an obstacle hampering actions taken by the party leadership against the practices.
According to Chang, most of the vote-buying cases in the DPP are connected with the existence of so-called "figurehead party members," who are usually recruited by a middleman for the mere purpose of gaining the qualification to cast votes in the DPP ballots.
The middleman makes a profit by selling the votes that he controls to candidates wishing to purchase them.
Meanwhile, a similar problem has recently been reported within the KMT, which is to hold a primary ballot for the very first time on May 5 to decide its nominees for the legislative elections.
KMT Legislator Apollo Chen (陳學聖) said the amendment is a crucial step stopping corruption.
"We don't wish to see high-caliber politicians lose unfairly [in the primaries] to corrupt politicians," Chen said.
Japan has deployed long-range missiles in a southwestern region near China, the Japanese defense minister said yesterday, at a time when ties with Beijing are at their lowest in recent years. The missiles were installed in Kumamoto in the southern region of Kyushu, as Japan is attempting to shore up its military capacity as China steps up naval activity in the East China Sea. “Standoff defense capabilities enable us to counter the threat of enemy forces attempting to invade our country ... while ensuring the safety of our personnel,” Japanese Minister of Defense Shinjiro Koizumi said. “This is an extremely important initiative for
MORE POPULAR: Taiwan Pass sales increased by 59 percent during the first quarter compared with the same period last year, the Tourism Administration said The Tourism Administration yesterday said that it has streamlined the Taiwan Pass, with two versions available for purchase beginning today. The tourism agency has made the pass available to international tourists since 2024, allowing them to access the high-speed rail, Taiwan Railway Corp services, four MRT systems and four Taiwan Tourist Shuttles. Previously, five types of Taiwan Pass were available, but some tourists have said that the offerings were too complicated. The agency said only two types of Taiwan Pass would be available, starting from a three-day pass with the high-speed rail and a three-day pass with Taiwan Railway Corp. The former costs NT$2,800
POLLS CONCERNS: There are concerns within the KMT that a Cheng Li-wun-Xi Jinping meeting could trigger a voter backlash in elections in November Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairwoman Cheng Li-wun (鄭麗文) accepted an invitation from Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) to visit next month, her party and Chinese state media reported yesterday. Cheng, who took up her role in November last year, “gladly accepted” the invitation to lead a delegation to China, the KMT said in a statement, confirming a Xinhua news agency report. Cheng “looks forward to joint efforts by both parties to advance the peaceful development of cross-strait relations, promote cross-strait exchanges and cooperation, and work for peace in the Taiwan Strait and greater well-being for people on both sides,” the statement said. Chinese
SIGNIFICANT TO THE WORLD: The delegation’s visit aims to send a clear message that bipartisan support for Taiwan is consistent, US Senator Jeanne Shaheen said The US Senate’s bipartisan support for Taiwan remains strong and Taiwan-US ties would continue for decades to come, a US Senate delegation said in Taipei yesterday, while calling on the legislature to swiftly pass a special defense budget bill. A US delegation led by Democratic US Senator Jeanne Shaheen and Republican US Senator John Curtis — both members of the US Senate Committee on Foreign Relations — arrived in Taiwan yesterday for a two-day visit. The other senators of the delegation included Senate Taiwan Caucus cochair Thom Tillis and Senate Committee on Armed Services senior member Jacky Rosen. Shaheen told a news
RSS