Several members of the Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) Hsinchu City chapter were summoned for questioning by prosecutors yesterday, as a judicial probe got under way to investigate allegations of vote-buying and other prohibited campaign activities at a year-end “thanksgiving” party hosted by the chapter on Saturday.
The Hsinchu District Prosecutors’ Office initiated the judicial probe after examining video footage and other evidence and 19 people were brought in to conduct the inquiry.
Among those summoned by prosecutors yesterday were KMT Hsinchu City chapter director Hsieh Po-yi (謝柏意), Hsinchu City Council caucus chief secretary Lin Keng-jen (林耕仁) and Hsinchu City Councilor Wu Ching-shan (吳青山).
Photo: Tsai Chang-sheng, Taipei Times
“We dispatched judicial police officers to monitor and video the proceedings at last Saturday’s banquet hosted by the KMT’s Hsinchu City chapter. The video footage was compiled onto CDs for examination by prosecutors,” Hsinchu District Prosecutors’ Office spokesman Lin Li-chia (林李嘉) said.
Lin Keng-jen said the office had summoned the organizers of the banquet, guests, caterers and other companies that provided services at the event to clarify their roles and to investigate if vote-buying had occurred.
When questioned, Lin Keng-jen said he chaired the organizing committee for the event, which was a year-end “thanksgiving” banquet and party for KMT members and local residents.
“I have nothing to hide. The banquet was paid for out of my own money,” he said, adding that the banquet was not extravagant and that “regular fare” was served.
The banquet took place in the plaza of Hsinchu City’s Shulintou Night Market (樹林頭夜市) and the video footage showed KMT Hsinchu legislative candidate Cheng Cheng-chien (鄭正鈐) and KMT Secretary-General Lee Shu-chuan (李四川) walking between the tables wearing campaign vests, talking to diners in an apparent bid to solicit their support.
Cheng was quoted as saying that “as a member of KMT, it is natural for me to attend a banquet hosted by the party. I was invited by the organizers. I did not make a speech, nor did I distribute campaign material. I was only there to greet and talk briefly with local residents and I left shortly after it started.”
However, the competing legislative candidates in Hsinchu City did not see it that way and accused the KMT of vote-buying by treating local residents to lavish meals at a traditional banquet, at which 1,035 tables were set up for more than 10,000 guests.
Democratic Progressive Party anti-vote-buying supervision task force head Lian Li-jian (連立堅) said that banquet staff made every effort to coverup election campaigning, such as asking the crowd not to yell dongsuan (凍蒜) — a Hoklo (commonly known as Taiwanese) phrase for “get elected” — “the chanting of the phrase still occurred.”
CALL FOR PEACE: Czech President Petr Pavel raised concerns about China’s military maneuvers in the Taiwan Strait and its ‘unfriendly action’ in the South China Sea The leaders of three diplomatic allies — Guatemala, Paraguay and Palau — on Tuesday voiced support for Taiwan’s inclusion in the UN on the first day of the UN General Debate in New York. In his address during the 78th UN General Assembly, Palauan President Surangel Whipps Jr urged the UN and all parties involved in cross-strait issues to exercise restraint and seek a peaceful resolution. “The well-being and prosperity of nations and their economies are intrinsically linked to global peace and stability,” he said. He also thanked partner nations such as Taiwan, Australia, Japan and the US for providing assistance
CROSS-STRAIT CONCERNS: At the same US Congress hearing, Mira Resnick said a US government shutdown could affect weapons sales and licenses to allies such as Taiwan A Chinese blockade of Taiwan would be a “monster risk” for Beijing and likely to fail, while a military invasion would be extremely difficult, senior Pentagon officials told the US Congress on Tuesday. Growing worries of a conflict come as China has ramped up military pressure on Taiwan, holding large-scale war games simulating a blockade on the nation, while conducting near-daily warplane incursions and sending Chinese vessels around its waters. US Assistant Secretary of Defense for Indo-Pacific Security Affairs Ely Ratner said a blockade would be “a monster risk for the PRC [People’s Republic of China].” “It would likely not succeed, and it
‘HARASSMENT’: A record 103 Chinese warplanes were detected in 24 hours, posing severe challenges to security in the Taiwan Strait and the region, the ministry said Taiwan yesterday told China to stop its “destructive unilateral actions” after more than 100 Chinese warplanes and nine navy ships were detected in areas around the nation. The Ministry of National Defense (MND) described the number of warplanes detected in 24 hours as a “recent high,” while Beijing has so far refrained from issuing any official comment on the sorties. “Between the morning of September 17th to 18th, the Ministry of National Defense had detected a total of 103 Chinese aircraft, which was a recent high and has posed severe challenges to the security across the Taiwan Strait and in the region,”
IMPORTS: Fifty-four million imported eggs with a value of more than NT$200 million had to be destroyed, mostly because they expired in storage facilities Minister of Agriculture Chen Chi-chung (陳吉仲) last night announced that he would resign from his post. Local media on Sunday reported that Chen had resigned due to controversy over the ministry’s egg import program. Later that same evening, the Executive Yuan said that Premier Chen Chien-jen (陳建仁) had asked the minister to stay on to resolve the issue. Chen Chi-chung last night made public his decision to resign on Facebook, saying that this time he would not be dissuaded. Chen Chi-chung earlier yesterday apologized for the furor surrounding the egg import program, but added that misinformation had made the problems worse. The government was
RSS