Cabinet takes aim at vote-buying

The Cabinet launched a campaign yesterday to stamp out vote-buying, offering awards as high as NT$10 million for information leading to the conviction of candidates found guilty of using cash to solicit voter support.

The effort comes as election hopefuls hit the campaign trail for the Dec. 1 legislative and local polls. Premier Chang Chun-hsiung (張俊雄) vowed yesterday to ensure that the elections are fair and clean.

"Vote-buying and crime are alike," Chang said. "Prevention comes before punishment. ... The public should just say no [to campaign bribes]," the premier said yesterday.

The Cabinet yesterday also unveiled a television commercial that encourages voters to help police fight vote-buying.

The spot features Tsai Bai-hsiu (蔡百修), who has been dubbed the "vote-buying buster" (抓鬼大王) for the fortune he has made by reporting vote-buying activities to investigators.

In the ad, Tsai notes that information leading to the conviction of candidates involved in vote-buying in mayoral and county commissioner races can earn tipsters as much as NT$5 million from the Ministry of Justice.

For legislative races, the award can be as high as NT$10 million.

"But it's not about money," Tsai tells voters in the ad. "It's all about preserving our political development, which has been harmed by vote-buying."

The justice ministry also plans to distribute pamphlets nationwide that detail patterns of vote-buying behavior, and has set up a 24-hour toll-free hotline to receive tip-offs.

"Each call will be transferred directly to the local prosecutor's office," said Chen Mei-ling (陳美伶), director of the legal affairs department at the Ministry of Justice.

Chen added that all calls would be kept confidential under the Witness Protection Law.

She also said candidates would be asked to endorse the Cabinet's anti-vote-buying campaign. Those who want to be identified with the Cabinet's efforts would have a special anti-vote-buying logo appear beside their name on voter information pamphlets.

Chen urged the public yesterday to vote for candidates who endorse the Cabinet's campaign.

The justice ministry official also said that the Ministry of Finance would be on the watch for irregular cash flows at banks that could be used for vote-buying.

The premier also said yesterday that no government official is above the law when it comes to vote-buying. Chang noted that opposition politicians have sued him for promising government funds at campaign rallies for DPP candidates.

Opposition party candidates say those promises amount to vote-buying.

"The fact that even the premier could get sued means that [law enforcement officers] will ensure equal rights for everyone," Chang said. "No one gets to enjoy any privilege before the law."

In addition, the premier promised that investigations into vote-buying would not be politicized.

Also yesterday, Minister of Justice Chen Ding-nan (陳定南) started off on a cross-country campaign against vote-buying in a special bus.

Chen -- along with State Public Prosecutor General Lu Jen-fa (盧仁發) and head of the National Police Administration Wang Chin-wang (王進旺) -- plans to visit police and prosecutors around the country this month to check on anti-vote-buying work.

Chen, who some call "an upright judge" (青天), urged voters to take up "the upright judge's" job and "act as one" to help the government thoroughly pursue its crackdown on vote-buying.