Figures released by the Ministry of Justice (MOJ) yesterday show that 22 Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) election candidates have been detained on suspicion of illegal campaigning methods, while six from the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) have been detained.
The ministry yesterday released the latest figures on cases of bribery and intimidation under investigation by local prosecutors related to next Saturday’s local government elections.
Ministry statistics showed that a majority of detained candidates were from the KMT (22 people), followed by 10 candidates whose party membership was still unclear, six candidates from the DPP and six others who had no party affiliation.
Of the candidates who have been issued with indictments, 19 were not attached to any party, three were from the KMT and there were three whose party affiliation is unclear.
In the mayor and county commissioner elections, 25 new bribery allegations have been added this week, bringing the total to 128. Three allegations of violence have been reported so far.
In the city and county councilor elections, 220 new bribery allegations surfaced this week, bringing the total to 807 cases, while four new allegations of violence were added to a total of 50 existing cases.
As for the township chief elections, 518 allegations of bribery are currently being investigated (114 of them are new) and 15 allegations of violence have been reported (three new).
People reporting information about alleged illegality could be eligible for rewards of up to NT$5 million (US$154,800) for tips involving mayoral and county commissioner elections, NT$2 million for councilor elections and NT$500,000 for township chief elections, the ministry said.
The first two F-16V Bock 70 jets purchased from the US are expected to arrive in Taiwan around Double Ten National Day, which is on Oct. 10, a military source said yesterday. Of the 66 F-16V Block 70 jets purchased from the US, the first completed production in March, the source said, adding that since then three jets have been produced per month. Although there were reports of engine defects, the issue has been resolved, they said. After the jets arrive in Taiwan, they must first pass testing by the air force before they would officially become Taiwan’s property, they said. The air force
GLOBAL: Although Matsu has limited capacity for large numbers of domestic tourists, it would be a great high-end destination for international travelers, an official said Lienchiang County’s (Matsu) unique landscape and Cold War history give it great potential to be marketed as a destination for international travelers, Tourism Administration Director General Chen Yu-hsiu (陳玉秀) said at the weekend. Tourism officials traveled to the outlying island for the Matsu Biennial, an art festival that started on Friday to celebrate Matsu’s culture, history and landscape. Travelers to Matsu, which lies about 190km northwest of Taipei, must fly or take the state-run New Taima passenger ship. However, flights are often canceled during fog season from April to June. Chen spoke about her vision to promote Matsu as a tourist attraction in
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