National Security Bureau Director (NSB) Tsai Der-sheng (蔡得勝) yesterday said the bureau was paying close attention to illegal betting on the outcome of the Jan. 14 presidential election because it would be a key factor in what he termed a “neck-and-neck” contest.
“With about two months to go until the election and the candidates running neck-and-neck, bookmakers haven’t yet offered betting odds,” Tsai told a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee.
Tsai made the remarks in response to comments by Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Mark Li (李明星), who said bookmakers had given odds that President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) would beat Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) presidential candidate Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) with a spread of 200,000 ballots, much narrower than the 300,000 to 500,000 vote spread predicted a few months ago.
Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Huang Wei-cher (黃偉哲) said he had heard the bet was that Tsai would lose to Ma by less than 50,000 ballots.
Tsai Der-sheng expressed concern that some participants in illegal betting might be “emotionally unstable” and therefore engage in activities harmful to the candidates.
Tsai Der-sheng, along with security-related officials, was asked to brief lawmakers at the committee on protection measures provided to presidential candidates.
Special teams from the bureau have taken on the protection of Ma, Tsai Ing-wen and People First Party Chairman James Soong (宋楚瑜) after they registered their candidacies for the election this week, a task that will last until midnight on Jan. 15.
The bureau chief said the agency had received 12 pieces of intelligence between April 28 and Wednesday about people threatening to harm Ma.
Of the 12, eight cases have been closed, while the other four were still under investigation.
Most cases were just emotional outbursts by disgruntled people as a way to voice their dissatisfaction, he said.
Tsai Der-sheng said the bureau had tracked down the origin of a threat against Tsai Ing-wen to set her campaign headquarters on fire, adding that the suspect had been apprehended.
No threat against Soong has been received to date, the intelligence chief said.
Upon receiving intelligence on possible threats against the candidates, the bureau immediately launches an investigation, strengthens security measures and reports the threat to law enforcement officials, Tsai Der-sheng said.
He said the bureau would demand that candidates wear bulletproof vests when necessary, adding that the three candidates have not had any complaints.
The bureau activated a special center on Nov. 20 that operates 24 hours a day to respond to issues related to candidates’ security, Tsai Der-sheng said.
Additional reporting by CNA
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