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.”
SOLIDARITY: A group of European lawmakers condemned China’s aggressive moves, while the foreign minister of Lithuania said Taiwan ‘cannot become a second Ukraine’ A German parliamentary delegation would visit Taiwan in the first week of October, German lawmaker Holger Becker on Monday told visiting Democratic Progressive Party legislators Fan Yun (范雲) and Lin I-chin (林宜瑾) at the Bundestag in Berlin. Asked by Fan whether he is worried about possible reprisals from Beijing, such as banning him and his family from entering China, Becker said he is more interested in visiting Taiwan, as “now is the time for democracies to stand together.” Fan and Lin also met with German officials to exchange views on digital education and governance. Investing in digital infrastructure and protecting equal rights to
As China waged extensive military exercises off Taiwan, a group of US defense experts in Washington was focused on their own simulation of an eventual — but for now entirely hypothetical — US-China war over the nation. The unofficial what-if game is being conducted on the fifth floor of an office building not far from the White House, and it posits a US military response to a Chinese invasion in 2026. Even though the participants bring a US perspective, they are finding that a US-Taiwan victory, if there is one, could come at a huge cost. “The results are showing that under
‘SIMULATED ATTACKS’: Ten warships each from China and Taiwan were maneuvering at close quarters in the Taiwan Strait, with some Chinese vessels crossing the median line Taiwan yesterday reiterated that it would not succumb to pressure from Beijing after China carried out its most provocative military drills in decades in retaliation for US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s trip to Taiwan last week. “We will never bow to pressure. We uphold freedom and democracy, and believe Taiwanese disapprove [of] China’s bullying actions with force and saber rattling at our door,” Premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) said yesterday. China had “arrogantly” disrupted regional peace and stability, he said, calling on Beijing to not flex its military muscles. President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) has also called on the international community to “support
DRILLS CONTINUE: China’s creation of a restricted zone across the median line of the Taiwan Strait challenges a 70-year-old fact, a ministry of defense official said The nation’s military fully complies with international rules and guidelines when responding to Chinese military drills, the Ministry of National Defense said yesterday, vowing to continue defending Taiwan in accordance with international law. China on Thursday launched four days of military drills around Taiwan proper in response to US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taipei. The drills were expected to end on Sunday, but neither Beijing nor Taipei confirmed their conclusion, although the Ministry of Transportation and Communications said it had seen some evidence suggesting at least a partial drawdown. However, China yesterday said the drills would continue, saying “the
RSS