Vice Finance Minister Sean Chen (陳沖) said yesterday that bank capital flows would be coming under close scrutiny as part of the government's efforts to eliminate further vote-buying in Saturday's legislative polls.
Chen issued a warning against any financial institutions emerging as the source of money laundering or illegal capital operations, following reports that corrupt electoral practices were already marring the electoral process.
"The finance ministry will cooperate with law-enforcement units in their efforts to curb illegal vote-buying," he said.
The remarks came after a local Chinese-language paper reported that at least 100 officials from financial supervisory agencies have been assigned to check the capital flows of grass-roots banking institutions for any signs of vote-buying.
An unnamed finance ministry official said that officials will notify prosecutors of any extraordinary changes in the institutions' deposits or loans.
"The purpose of the move is to help law-enforcement units crack down on vote-buying," the financial ministry official said.
"The financial check will last until the vote on Saturday," he added.
Incidents of vote-buying have been rife during the last week, particularly in the final days before the vote, the paper said.
The paper said the monitoring efforts could influence the poll results since many of the financial institutions under scrutiny used to be cells of the former KMT government.
A prosecutor from the southern Kaohsiung district court on Tuesday indicted independent candidate Wang Tien-ching (王天競) and KMT candidate Hsiao Chin-lan (蕭金蘭) on charges of vote-buying.
The prosecutor sought a jail term of three-and-half years for Wang and 10 months for Hsiao.
Last week DPP lawmaker Hsu Chih-ming (徐志明), who was seeking re-election, was also indicted on vote-buying allegations.
The ruling DPP has pledged to oversee a clean race in the first legislative elections since it took the helm of the country last year, ending the KMT's half-century grip on power.
Election analysts said none of the nation's political parties are expected to capture a majority in the legislature.
A record 476 candidates are vying for 168 of 225 seats, while 41 seats will be allocated to nominees from different political parties based on their share of the vote.
The remaining 16 seats are for representatives of minority tribes and overseas Taiwanese.
Some local elections will also be held in conjunction with the polls, with five cities electing mayors and 18 counties choosing magistrates.
CALL FOR SUPPORT: President William Lai called on lawmakers across party lines to ensure the livelihood of Taiwanese and that national security is protected President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday called for bipartisan support for Taiwan’s investment in self-defense capabilities at the christening and launch of two coast guard vessels at CSBC Corp, Taiwan’s (台灣國際造船) shipyard in Kaohsiung. The Taipei (台北) is the fourth and final ship of the Chiayi-class offshore patrol vessels, and the Siraya (西拉雅) is the Coast Guard Administration’s (CGA) first-ever ocean patrol vessel, the government said. The Taipei is the fourth and final ship of the Chiayi-class offshore patrol vessels with a displacement of about 4,000 tonnes, Lai said. This ship class was ordered as a result of former president Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) 2018
‘SECRETS’: While saying China would not attack during his presidency, Donald Trump declined to say how Washington would respond if Beijing were to take military action US President Donald Trump said that China would not take military action against Taiwan while he is president, as the Chinese leaders “know the consequences.” Trump made the statement during an interview on CBS’ 60 Minutes program that aired on Sunday, a few days after his meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) in South Korea. “He [Xi] has openly said, and his people have openly said at meetings, ‘we would never do anything while President Trump is president,’ because they know the consequences,” Trump said in the interview. However, he repeatedly declined to say exactly how Washington would respond in
WARFARE: All sectors of society should recognize, unite, and collectively resist and condemn Beijing’s cross-border suppression, MAC Minister Chiu Chui-cheng said The number of Taiwanese detained because of legal affairs by Chinese authorities has tripled this year, as Beijing intensified its intimidation and division of Taiwanese by combining lawfare and cognitive warfare, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday. MAC Minister Chiu Chui-cheng (邱垂正) made the statement in response to questions by Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Puma Shen (沈柏洋) about the government’s response to counter Chinese public opinion warfare, lawfare and psychological warfare. Shen said he is also being investigated by China for promoting “Taiwanese independence.” He was referring to a report published on Tuesday last week by China’s state-run Xinhua news agency,
‘ADDITIONAL CONDITION’: Taiwan will work with like-minded countries to protect its right to participate in next year’s meeting, the foreign ministry said The US will “continue to press China for security arrangements and protocols that safeguard all participants when attending APEC meetings in China,” a US Department of State spokesperson said yesterday, after Beijing suggested that members must adhere to its “one China principle” to participate. “The United States insists on the full and equal participation of all APEC member economies — including Taiwan — consistent with APEC’s guidelines, rules and established practice, as affirmed by China in its offer to host in 2026,” the unnamed spokesperson said in response to media queries about China putting a “one China” principle condition on Taiwan’s
RSS