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.
Taipei has once again made it to the top 100 in Oxford Economics’ Global Cities Index 2025 report, moving up five places from last year to 60. The annual index, which was published last month, evaluated 1,000 of the most populated metropolises based on five indices — economics, human capital, quality of life, environment and governance. New York maintained its top spot this year, placing first in the economics index thanks to the strength of its vibrant financial industry and economic stability. Taipei ranked 263rd in economics, 44th in human capital, 15th in quality of life, 284th for environment and 75th in governance,
The Sports Administration yesterday demanded an apology from the national table tennis association for barring 17-year-old Yeh Yi-tian (葉伊恬) from competing in the upcoming World Table Tennis (WTT) United States Smash tournament in Las Vegas this July. The sports agency said in a statement that the Chinese Taipei Table Tennis Association (CTTTA) must explain to the public why it withdrew Yeh from the WTT tournament in Las Vegas. The sports agency said it contacted the association to express its disapproval of the decision-making process after receiving a complaint from Yeh’s coach, Chuang
Control Yuan Secretary-General Lee Chun-yi (李俊俋) tendered his resignation last night, admitting that he had misused a government vehicle, as reported by media. His resignation was immediately accepted by the Control Yuan. In a statement explaining why he had resigned, Lee apologized for using a Control Yuan vehicle to transport his dog to a pet grooming salon on May 20. The issue first came to light late last month, when TVBS News reported that Lee had instructed his driver to take the dog to the salon. The news channel broadcast photos that it said were taken by an unnamed whistle-blower, which purportedly showed the
A former officer in China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) who witnessed the aftermath of the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre has warned that Taiwan could face a similar fate if China attempts to unify the country by force. Li Xiaoming (李曉明), who was deployed to Beijing as a junior officer during the crackdown, said Taiwanese people should study the massacre carefully, because it offers a glimpse of what Beijing is willing to do to suppress dissent. “What happened in Tiananmen Square could happen in Taiwan too,” Li told CNA in a May 22 interview, ahead of the massacre’s 36th anniversary. “If Taiwanese students or
RSS