The cash-strapped People First Party’s (PFP) intention of using prerecorded telephone vote canvassing in lieu of televised advertisements for its presidential campaign hit a snag when the company it contracted suddenly terminated the deal on Tuesday, a PFP official said.
The PFP reached an agreement with the company that it would pay NT$7.5 (US$0.25) per recording, with NT$2 going back to the PFP. The system was slated to be operational starting yesterday.
PFP spokesperson Wu Kun-yu (吳崑玉) revealed that the deal was called off was due to pressure from the company’s major stockholders forbidding the company from being “pro-Soong,” adding that the sales manager that signed the contract with the PFP was forced to resign.
Photo: CNA
Wu added that he suspected someone or some faction was placing restrictions on the party ever since PFP Chairman James Soong (宋楚瑜) in September announced his intention to run in the presidential election.
The latest incident showed that “not only was this someone or some faction trying to cut off the cash flow of the PFP, it was also interfering in the PFP’s small-sum fundraising efforts and cutting off the PFP’s channels of advertisement,” Wu said.
According to sources, the PFP’s fundraising operations have not been smooth, with donations by corporations ranging from NT$1 million to NT$2 million considered high.
To avoid “getting in trouble,” the corporations who donate to the PFP do not ask for a receipt, the sources added, saying that an owner of a company who was visibly rooting for Soong in Yunlin County “coincidentally” received a notice several months ago to pay back taxes dating from five years ago.
To come up with campaign funding, it is rumored that Soong recently withdrew the NT$240 million returned to him after the closing of the Chung Hsing Bills Financial case and is using the fund to pay various election expenses.
Soong was accused of embezzling funds from the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) when he was still a member of the party. After a failed attempt to return the money to the KMT, Soong asked the Taipei District Court to take custody of the money.
A court decision in May last year ruled that Soong could retrieve the funds.
Translated by Jake Chung, staff writer
‘NON-RED’: Taiwan and Ireland should work together to foster a values-driven, democratic economic system, leveraging their complementary industries, Lai said President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday expressed hopes for closer ties between Taiwan and Ireland, and that both countries could collaborate to create a values-driven, democracy-centered economic system. He made the remarks while meeting with an Irish cross-party parliamentary delegation visiting Taiwan. The delegation, led by John McGuinness, deputy speaker of the Irish house of representatives, known as the Dail, includes Irish lawmakers Malcolm Byrne, Barry Ward, Ken O’Flynn and Teresa Costello. McGuinness, who chairs the Ireland-Taiwan Parliamentary Friendship Association, is a friend of Taiwan, and under his leadership, the association’s influence has grown over the past few years, Lai said. Ireland is
A saleswoman, surnamed Chen (陳), earlier this month was handed an 18-month prison term for embezzling more than 2,000 pairs of shoes while working at a department store in Tainan. The Tainan District Court convicted Chen of embezzlement in a ruling on July 7, sentencing her to prison for illegally profiting NT$7.32 million (US$248,929) at the expense of her employer. Chen was also given the opportunity to reach a financial settlement, but she declined. Chen was responsible for the sales counter of Nike shoes at Tainan’s Shinkong Mitsukoshi Zhongshan branch, where she had been employed since October 2019. She had previously worked
FINAL COUNTDOWN: About 50,000 attended a pro-recall rally yesterday, while the KMT and the TPP plan to rally against the recall votes today Democracy activists, together with arts and education representatives, yesterday organized a motorcade, while thousands gathered on Ketagalan Boulevard in Taipei in the evening in support of tomorrow’s recall votes. Recall votes for 24 Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) lawmakers and suspended Hsinchu City mayor Ann Kao (高虹安) are to be held tomorrow, while recall votes for seven other KMT lawmakers are scheduled for Aug. 23. The afternoon motorcade was led by the Spring Breeze Culture and Arts Foundation, the Tyzen Hsiao Foundation and the Friends of Lee Teng-hui Association, and was joined by delegates from the Taiwan Statebuilding Party and the Taiwan Solidarity
TRANSPORT DISRUPTION: More than 100 ferry services were suspended due to rough seas and strong winds, and eight domestic flights were canceled, the ministry said Tropical Storm Wipha intensified slightly yesterday as it passed closest to Taiwan, dumping more than 200mm of rain in Hualien and Taitung counties, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. As of 11am, Wipha was about 210km southwest of Cape Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻) and was moving west-northwest at 27km per hour (kph). The storm carried maximum sustained winds of 101kph and gusts reaching 126kph, with a 150km radius of strong winds, CWA data showed. Wipha’s outer rainbands began sweeping across Taiwan early yesterday, delivering steady rainfall in the east and scattered showers in other regions, forecasters said. More heavy rain was expected, especially in the eastern