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 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
Travel agencies in Taiwan are working to secure alternative flights for travelers bound for New Zealand for the Lunar New Year holiday, as Air New Zealand workers are set to strike next week. The airline said that it has confirmed that the planned industrial action by its international wide-body cabin crew would go ahead on Thursday and Friday next week. While the Auckland-based carrier pledged to take reasonable measures to mitigate the impact of the workers’ strike, an Air New Zealand flight arriving at Taipei from Auckland on Thursday and another flight departing from Taipei for Auckland on Saturday would have to
A group from the Taiwanese Designers in Australia association yesterday represented Taiwan at the Midsumma Pride March in Melbourne. The march, held in the St. Kilda suburb, is the city’s largest LGBTQIA+ parade and the flagship event of the annual Midsumma Festival. It attracted more than 45,000 spectators who supported the 400 groups and 10,000 marchers that participated this year, the association said. Taiwanese Designers said they organized a team to march for Taiwan this year, joining politicians, government agencies, professionals and community organizations in showing support for LGBTQIA+ people and diverse communities. As the first country in Asia to legalize same-sex
MOTIVES QUESTIONED The PLA considers Xi’s policies toward Taiwan to be driven by personal considerations rather than military assessment, the Epoch Times reports Chinese President Xi Jinping’s (習近平) latest purge of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) leadership might have been prompted by the military’s opposition to plans of invading Taiwan, the Epoch Times said. The Chinese military opposes waging war against Taiwan by a large consensus, putting it at odds with Xi’s vision, the Falun Gong-affiliated daily said in a report on Thursday, citing anonymous sources with insight into the PLA’s inner workings. The opposition is not the opinion of a few generals, but a widely shared view among the PLA cadre, the Epoch Times cited them as saying. “Chinese forces know full well that
RSS