Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) presidential candidate Frank Hsieh's (謝長廷) camp yesterday accused China of interfering in the presidential election, saying Beijing had offered discounted flights for China-based Taiwanese businesspeople returning home to vote next month.
Shen Fa-hui (沈發惠), a Hsieh camp spokesman, said that according to the Web site of the Association of Taiwan Investment Enterprises on the Mainland, individuals who booked tickets via the association to return home between March 1 and March 22 will enjoy a 60 percent discount.
As plane tickets for the Lunar New Year do not have such a big discount, Shen said it was logical to assume that China is attempting to lure Taiwanese businesspeople with monetary incentives to encourage them to return home to vote for particular candidates.
"The 60 percent discount will be absorbed by the airline companies, but all the airline companies in China are state-owned," he said. "Had this happened in Taiwan it would have violated the Election and Recall Law of Civil Servants [公職人員選舉罷免法]."
Another Hsieh camp spokesman, Hsu Kuo-yung (
Hsu requested that the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) communicate with Beijing to remind them that such behavior runs the risk of breaching the election code and to ask China not to meddle in elections.
Emphasizing that the presidential election is Taiwan's domestic affair, another spokesman for Hsieh's camp, Cheng Wen-tsang (鄭文燦), urged the Chinese government to stop interfering.
"China is making an all-out effort to offer `election charter flights' to Taiwanese businesspeople so they can systematically mobilize them to come home to vote and sway the election," Cheng said. "I am asking Beijing to respect the free will and free choice of China-based Taiwanese businesspeople."
Cheng said China's Taiwan Affairs Office played a significant role in the establishment of the association offering the cut-price flights.
The Straits Exchange Foundation also urged the association to refrain from making any resolution concerning Taiwan's election when the association met on Jan. 6, Chen said.
In response, KMT Legislator Wu Yu-sheng (
"The DPP's accusations are groundless," he said. "The accusations also indicate that the DPP does not trust Taiwanese. It is ridiculous to say that all Taiwanese who return will vote for Mr Ma[Ying-jeou (馬以南)]."
Meanwhile, Hsieh yesterday pledged to drop out of the presidential race if it could be proved he had taken money from a biotechnology and pharmaceutical association.
He also challenged his KMT rival to make a similar pledge.
Ma's sister, Ma Yi-nan , said last week that the association had donated NT$500,000 each to Ma and Hsieh.
No immediate response was available from Ma Ying-jeou, who was occupied with the funeral of his father-in-law yesterday.
Additional reporting by AFP
FREEDOM OF NAVIGATION: The UK would continue to reinforce ties with Taiwan ‘in a wide range of areas’ as a part of a ‘strong unofficial relationship,’ a paper said The UK plans to conduct more freedom of navigation operations in the Taiwan Strait and the South China Sea, British Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs David Lammy told the British House of Commons on Tuesday. British Member of Parliament Desmond Swayne said that the Royal Navy’s HMS Spey had passed through the Taiwan Strait “in pursuit of vital international freedom of navigation in the South China Sea.” Swayne asked Lammy whether he agreed that it was “proper and lawful” to do so, and if the UK would continue to carry out similar operations. Lammy replied “yes” to both questions. The
Two US House of Representatives committees yesterday condemned China’s attempt to orchestrate a crash involving Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim’s (蕭美琴) car when she visited the Czech Republic last year as vice president-elect. Czech local media in March last year reported that a Chinese diplomat had run a red light while following Hsiao’s car from the airport, and Czech intelligence last week told local media that Chinese diplomats and agents had also planned to stage a demonstrative car collision. Hsiao on Saturday shared a Reuters news report on the incident through her account on social media platform X and wrote: “I
SHIFT PRIORITIES: The US should first help Taiwan respond to actions China is already taking, instead of focusing too heavily on deterring a large-scale invasion, an expert said US Air Force leaders on Thursday voiced concerns about the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) missile capabilities and its development of a “kill web,” and said that the US Department of Defense’s budget request for next year prioritizes bolstering defenses in the Indo-Pacific region due to the increasing threat posed by China. US experts said that a full-scale Chinese invasion of Taiwan is risky and unlikely, with Beijing more likely to pursue coercive tactics such as political warfare or blockades to achieve its goals. Senior air force and US Space Force leaders, including US Secretary of the Air Force Troy Meink and
Czech officials have confirmed that Chinese agents surveilled Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) during her visit to Prague in March 2024 and planned a collision with her car as part of an “unprecedented” provocation by Beijing in Europe. Czech Military Intelligence learned that their Chinese counterparts attempted to create conditions to carry out a demonstrative incident involving Hsiao, which “did not go beyond the preparation stage,” agency director Petr Bartovsky told Czech Radio in a report yesterday. In addition, a Chinese diplomat ran a red light to maintain surveillance of the Taiwanese