Supporters of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) candidate for the Yunlin legislative by-election have received threatening phone calls, his office said yesterday, and police have been informed.
Kung Hsing-sheng (龔興生), secretary-general of candidate Chang Ken-hui’s (張艮輝) office reportedly received a cellphone call at 9:25pm on Sunday night from someone who threatened to “kill his whole family” if he continued to support Chang.
The police said they would investigate the complaint.
The alleged threat came on the heels of the detention of a borough warden on Sunday on suspicion of buying votes for Chang.
Prosecutors and investigators said they have questioned 18 people, including Dounan Township (斗南) warden and borough wardens, with 11 borough wardens admitting that they received NT$1,000 apiece to support Chang.
His office has denied the allegation, which it blamed on his rival, independent candidate Chang Hui-yuan (張輝元).
The by-election is needed to fill the seat left vacant by Chang Hui-yuan’s son, Chang Sho-wen (張碩文), who won the seat in January last year, but lost it this year after the High Court found him guilty of being part of in a vote-buying scheme organized by his father.
Chang Hui-yuan, who was found guilty of vote buying in the first trial, wanted to run as the KMT candidate in the election, but the party rejected his registration because its “black-gold exclusion clause” bars members found guilty of corruption in their first trial from standing for public office.
Chang Sho-wen filed a defamation lawsuit against Kung at the Yunlin Prosecutors’ Office yesterday, accusing him of making groundless vote-buying allegations.
Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Chairperson Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) urged prosecutors to handle the case impartially.
Saying the allegation was just the tip of the iceberg, DPP spokesman Chao Tien-lin (趙天麟) called on President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九), who takes over the KMT chairmanship next month, to make his position known on the matter.
Meanwhile, the KMT said that it would choose its candidate for the Nantou legislative by-election via a telephone poll.
The decision was made yesterday afternoon during a meeting chaired by KMT Secretary-General Chan Chun-po (詹春柏). The poll will be conducted between Oct. 2 and Oct. 4 and the candidate will be announced on Oct. 5.
Nipah virus infection is to be officially listed as a category 5 notifiable infectious disease in Taiwan in March, while clinical treatment guidelines are being formulated, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said yesterday. With Nipah infections being reported in other countries and considering its relatively high fatality rate, the centers on Jan. 16 announced that it would be listed as a notifiable infectious disease to bolster the nation’s systematic early warning system and increase public awareness, the CDC said. Bangladesh reported four fatal cases last year in separate districts, with three linked to raw date palm sap consumption, CDC Epidemic Intelligence
The manufacture of the remaining 28 M1A2T Abrams tanks Taiwan purchased from the US has recently been completed, and they are expected to be delivered within the next one to two months, a source said yesterday. The Ministry of National Defense is arranging cargo ships to transport the tanks to Taiwan as soon as possible, said the source, who is familiar with the matter. The estimated arrival time ranges from late this month to early next month, the source said. The 28 Abrams tanks make up the third and final batch of a total of 108 tanks, valued at about NT$40.5 billion
Two Taiwanese prosecutors were questioned by Chinese security personnel at their hotel during a trip to China’s Henan Province this month, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday. The officers had personal information on the prosecutors, including “when they were assigned to their posts, their work locations and job titles,” MAC Deputy Minister and spokesman Liang Wen-chieh (梁文傑) said. On top of asking about their agencies and positions, the officers also questioned the prosecutors about the Cross-Strait Joint Crime-Fighting and Judicial Mutual Assistance Agreement, a pact that serves as the framework for Taiwan-China cooperation on combating crime and providing judicial assistance, Liang
Reports of Taiwanese going missing, being detained or interrogated, or having their personal liberties restricted in China increased about fourfold annually last year, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday. Last year, 221 Taiwanese who traveled to China were reported missing, were detained and interrogated, or otherwise had their personal freedom restricted, up from 55 the previous year, the council said. Reopening group tours to China would be risky, as it would leave travelers with no way to seek help through official channels after Beijing shut down dialogue between the associations tasked with handling cross-strait tourism, the MAC said. Taipei’s Taiwan Strait Tourism
RSS