Kaohsiung prosecutors' crackdown on vote-buying ahead of today's city council elections netted another seven people yesterday.
While two were detained on vote-buying charges, five were released on bail, Kaohsiung District Prosecutors' Office spokesman Chung Chung-hsiao (
The seven had been working as campaign staffers for four city council candidates from various parties, Chung said.
Voters had been paid either NT$1,000 (US$30) or NT$500, the official said.
Chung said that the Kaohsiung District Court had so far ordered the detention of 13 people for alleged involvement in vote-buying or bribery for today's elections, while 19 had been released on bail.
Prosecutors are withholding the names of candidates whose staffers have been arrested to avoid affecting the elections.
"Vote-buying and bribery have been very serious issues in Kaohsiung during this campaign" said State Public Prosecutor-General Wu Ying-chao (
Police and prosecutors are questioning voters who allegedly received gifts or cash from the suspects.
The Ministry of Justice said yesterday that prosecutors were investigating a total of 81 cases involving bribery or vote-buying in the Taipei and Kaohsiung mayoral campaigns, and 509 cases related to the city councilor elections.
Six people have been indicted in three different cases so far, the ministry said, adding that prosecutors would "make every effort to crack down on vote-buying" before the elections.
Taiwan would benefit from more integrated military strategies and deployments if the US and its allies treat the East China Sea, the Taiwan Strait and the South China Sea as a “single theater of operations,” a Taiwanese military expert said yesterday. Shen Ming-shih (沈明室), a researcher at the Institute for National Defense and Security Research, said he made the assessment after two Japanese military experts warned of emerging threats from China based on a drill conducted this month by the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) Eastern Theater Command. Japan Institute for National Fundamentals researcher Maki Nakagawa said the drill differed from the
‘WORSE THAN COMMUNISTS’: President William Lai has cracked down on his political enemies and has attempted to exterminate all opposition forces, the chairman said The legislature would motion for a presidential recall after May 20, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) said yesterday at a protest themed “against green communists and dictatorship” in Taipei. Taiwan is supposed to be a peaceful homeland where people are united, but President William Lai (賴清德) has been polarizing and tearing apart society since his inauguration, Chu said. Lai must show his commitment to his job, otherwise a referendum could be initiated to recall him, he said. Democracy means the rule of the people, not the rule of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), but Lai has failed to fulfill his
OFF-TARGET: More than 30,000 participants were expected to take part in the Games next month, but only 6,550 foreign and 19,400 Taiwanese athletes have registered Taipei city councilors yesterday blasted the organizers of next month’s World Masters Games over sudden timetable and venue changes, which they said have caused thousands of participants to back out of the international sporting event, among other organizational issues. They also cited visa delays and political interference by China as reasons many foreign athletes are requesting refunds for the event, to be held from May 17 to 30. Jointly organized by the Taipei and New Taipei City governments, the games have been rocked by numerous controversies since preparations began in 2020. Taipei City Councilor Lin Yen-feng (林延鳳) said yesterday that new measures by
A rally held by opposition parties yesterday demonstrates that Taiwan is a democratic country, President William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday, adding that if opposition parties really want to fight dictatorship, they should fight it on Tiananmen Square in Beijing. The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) held a protest with the theme “against green communists and dictatorship,” and was joined by the Taiwan People’s Party. Lai said the opposition parties are against what they called the “green communists,” but do not fight against the “Chinese communists,” adding that if they really want to fight dictatorship, they should go to the right place and face
RSS