The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) yesterday criticized the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) for making accusations that KMT legislative candidates had been involved in vote-buying.
The KMT threatened to file lawsuits against the DPP for using smear campaign tactics in the final days before the presidential and legislative elections.
KMT Secretary-General Liao Liou-yi (廖了以) yesterday stressed the KMT’s determination to stamp out vote-buying during election campaigns and said the party had set up “ghost-catching” teams around the nation to look into any cases of potential vote--buying or bribery, while encouraging the public to report such acts to prosecutors.
Photo: CNA
“With only one day left before the elections, the DPP is blackening KMT candidates’ names with the same old negative campaign tactics,” he said yesterday.
“We will consider filing lawsuits against the DPP if it continues with this smear campaign,” he added.
Liao’s comments came after DPP presidential candidate Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) and others in the party raised concerns about vote-buying on Thursday.
The DPP cited cases that included KMT legislative candidate Chung Shao-ho (鍾紹和) in Greater Kaohsiung and said that vote-buying appeared to be widespread in central and southern Taiwan, urging the judiciary to be proactive in its investigations of the allegations in those regions.
Liao said that President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九), who also doubles as KMT chairman, has instructed the party to run a clean campaign and he called on Tsai and the DPP to refrain from engaging in negative campaign tactics.
“The DPP should run their campaign in a fair and candid manner,” Liao said.
“Making groundless accusations against candidates could violate the law,” he said.
An increase in Taiwanese boats using China-made automatic identification systems (AIS) could confuse coast guards patrolling waters off Taiwan’s southwest coast and become a loophole in the national security system, sources familiar with the matter said yesterday. Taiwan ADIZ, a Facebook page created by enthusiasts who monitor Chinese military activities in airspace and waters off Taiwan’s southwest coast, on Saturday identified what seemed to be a Chinese cargo container ship near Penghu County. The Coast Guard Administration went to the location after receiving the tip and found that it was a Taiwanese yacht, which had a Chinese AIS installed. Similar instances had also
GOOD DIPLOMACY: The KMT has maintained close contact with representative offices in Taiwan and had extended an invitation to Russia as well, the KMT said The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) would “appropriately handle” the fallout from an invitation it had extended to Russia’s representative to Taipei to attend its international banquet last month, KMT Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) said yesterday. US and EU representatives in Taiwan boycotted the event, and only later agreed to attend after the KMT rescinded its invitation to the Russian representative. The KMT has maintained long-term close contact with all representative offices and embassies in Taiwan, and had extended the invitation as a practice of good diplomacy, Chu said. “Some EU countries have expressed their opinions of Russia, and the KMT respects that,” he
VIGILANCE: The military is paying close attention to actions that might damage peace and stability in the region, the deputy minister of national defense said The People’s Republic of China (PRC) might consider initiating a hack on Taiwanese networks on May 20, the day of the inauguration ceremony of president-elect William Lai (賴清德), sources familiar with cross-strait issues said. While US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken’s statement of the US expectation “that all sides will conduct themselves with restraint and prudence in the period ahead” would prevent military actions by China, Beijing could still try to sabotage Taiwan’s inauguration ceremony, the source said. China might gain access to the video screens outside of the Presidential Office Building and display embarrassing messages from Beijing, such as congratulating Lai
Four China Coast Guard ships briefly sailed through prohibited waters near Kinmen County, Taipei said, urging Beijing to stop actions that endanger navigation safety. The Chinese ships entered waters south of Kinmen, 5km from the Chinese city of Xiamen, at about 3:30pm on Monday, the Coast Guard Administration said in a statement later the same day. The ships “sailed out of our prohibited and restricted waters” about an hour later, the agency said, urging Beijing to immediately stop “behavior that endangers navigation safety.” Ministry of National Defense spokesman Sun Li-fang (孫立方) yesterday told reporters that Taiwan would boost support to the Coast Guard