In a bid to crack down on vote-buying in Saturday's Hualien County commissioner by-election, Minster of the Interior Yu Cheng-hsien (
Meanwhile, National Police Administration (NPA) Director-General Chang Si-liang (張四良) said police in Hualien have already reported 119 possible vote-buying cases including some involving the campaigns of all three leading candidates.
Five candidates are competing for the seat: candidate No. 1, Independent Wu Kuo-tung (
Polls give Hsieh a comfortable lead over his two main rivals, Wu and You.
At a public security meeting in Hualien, Yu said he has transferred 464 police from Taipei and Kaohsiung cities to tackle vote-buying cases. The police will conduct frequent checks and searches 24 hours a day.
However, Yu's plan was immediately attacked by the opposition camp.
"The DPP is turning Hualien County into a police county," KMT Spokesman Alex Tsai (
In response to the criticism, Chang said the NPA will maintain its neutrality during the crackdown.
The police head also said that of the 119 vote-buying cases being dealt with by authorities, supporters of Hsieh, You and Wu are involved in at least some of them. According to Chang, local prosecutors are currently investigating these cases.
However, Chang's remarks were criticized as violating the "non-disclosure principle" of an ongoing investigation.
"The claim [of the possible cases] is bullshit!" said Yang Ta-chih (
The chief prosecutor also condemned the Ministry of the Interior and the NPA for constantly interfering with local prosecutors' investigations.
A 72-year-old man in Kaohsiung was sentenced to 40 days in jail after he was found having sex with a 67-year-old woman under a slide in a public park on Sunday afternoon. At 3pm on Sunday, a mother surnamed Liang (梁) was with her child at a neighborhood park when they found the man, surnamed Tsai (蔡), and woman, surnamed Huang (黃), underneath the slide. Liang took her child away from the scene, took photographs of the two and called the police, who arrived and arrested the couple. During questioning, Tsai told police that he had met Huang that day and offered to
LOOKING NORTH: The base would enhance the military’s awareness of activities in the Bashi Channel, which China Coast Guard ships have been frequenting, an expert said The Philippine Navy on Thursday last week inaugurated a forward operating base in the country’s northern most province of Batanes, which at 185km from Taiwan would be strategically important in a military conflict in the Taiwan Strait. The Philippine Daily Inquirer quoted Northern Luzon Command Commander Lieutenant General Fernyl Buca as saying that the base in Mahatao would bolster the country’s northern defenses and response capabilities. The base is also a response to the “irregular presence this month of armed” of China Coast Guard vessels frequenting the Bashi Channel in the Luzon Strait just south of Taiwan, the paper reported, citing a
A total lunar eclipse, an astronomical event often referred to as a “blood moon,” would be visible to sky watchers in Taiwan starting just before midnight on Sunday night, the Taipei Astronomical Museum said. The phenomenon is also called “blood moon” due to the reddish-orange hue it takes on as the Earth passes directly between the sun and the moon, completely blocking direct sunlight from reaching the lunar surface. The only light is refracted by the Earth’s atmosphere, and its red wavelengths are bent toward the moon, illuminating it in a dramatic crimson light. Describing the event as the most important astronomical phenomenon
BETTER SERVICE QUALITY: From Nov. 10, tickets with reserved seats would only be valid for the date, train and route specified on the ticket, THSRC said Starting on Nov. 10, high-speed rail passengers with reserved seats would be required to exchange their tickets to board an earlier train. Passengers with reserved seats on a specific train are currently allowed to board earlier trains on the same day and sit in non-reserved cars, but as this is happening increasingly often, and affecting quality of travel and ticket sales, Taiwan High-Speed Rail Corp (THSRC) announced that it would be canceling the policy on Nov. 10. It is one of several new measures launched by THSRC chairman Shih Che (史哲) to improve the quality of service, it said. The company also said
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