Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Vice Chairman Hau Lung-bin’s (郝龍斌) office yesterday accused former vice president Wu Den-yih (吳敦義) of foul play ahead of the party’s chairperson election in May, after several new KMT members received Wu’s campaign mail, although party headquarters had not provided their contact information to the candidates.
Hau’s campaign aide, Yu Shu-hui (游淑慧), said she received Wu’s campaign mail asking for her signature on Wednesday, about two months after she applied for KMT membership.
“What is strange is that my party membership application was filed through the KMT’s official Web site on Jan. 12. How was Wu able to obtain my personal information before party headquarters made it available to all candidates?” Yu said.
Based on the KMT’s election rules and KMT Chairwoman Hung Hsiu-chu’s (洪秀柱) repeated pledges, only the KMT’s Organizational Development Committee and other divisions have access to new party members’ personal information, Yu said, urging party headquarters to launch a probe into a possible leak.
Yu said she has received reports of similar cases, with some KMT members also receiving Wu’s campaign mail at their new addresses, which they provided to party headquarters only recently.
According to the KMT’s timetable for the May 20 chairperson election, party headquarters is to provide the candidates with a full list of party members on Friday next week, the deadline for people to join the KMT, reinstate their membership, or pay overdue membership fees to obtain voting rights.
Six people have so far stepped forward as candidates: Hau, Wu, Hung, Taipei Agricultural Products Marketing Corp president Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜), former KMT vice chairman Steve Chan (詹啟賢), and former KMT legislator Pan Wei-kang (潘維剛).
They are required to collect the signatures of at least 3 percent of all party members before April 15 to make their candidacy official.
Yu called on Wu to explain how he obtained KMT members’ personal information in advance, adding that the former vice chairman having access to new party members’ personal information raises concerns over the election’s fairness.
Yu said that Article 41 of the Personal Information Protection Act (個人資料保護法) stipulates a prison sentence of up to five years and a fine of up to NT$1 million (US$32,799) for illegally collecting or using personal information.
Wu’s campaign office staff Lee Che-hua (李哲華) said there is more than one way for a candidate to compile a list of party members.
“Many of our good friends have offered their assistance by sharing with us their personal contacts so that we can send them a copy of our campaign material,” Lee said.
Additional reporting by CNA
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