The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) yesterday announced two cases of suspected vote-buying involving Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) candidates, while the KMT accused the DPP of corruption in Kaohsiung.
Lien Li-jen (連立堅), executive director of a DPP task force to combat election irregularities, told a news conference that while several suspected vote-buying cases have been investigated by the authorities, “they are the tip of the iceberg.”
Vote-buying has evolved, he said.
Photo: Chen Hui-ping, Taipei Times
“According to recently received information, since November last year there have been many cases involving candidates who provided travel activities, at a very low cost, to voters and then staged campaign events at the destinations,” Lien said.
The DPP said that KMT legislative candidate Chang Ching-chung (張慶忠) on Nov. 19 last year offered a NT$400 trip package that should have been priced much higher, given its content.
“Chang appeared at some point during the trip and shouted campaign slogans while the participants were having a meal,” the DPP said.
Photo: Weng Yu-huang, Taipei Times
Another suspected vote-buying case cited by the DPP involved KMT presidential candidate Eric Chu’s (朱立倫) Hakka supporters’ club, which sources said organized 14 buses on Sunday to take supporters “at no cost” from New Taipei City to Hsinchu, where Chu was staging a campaign event, to attend the event as well as shop and sightsee.
At a news conference held by the KMT, Kaohsiung legislative candidate Steven Huang (黃璽文) said a DPP candidate in Kaohsiung, Hsu Chih-chieh (許智傑), held a banquet and provided free meals “to celebrate” a local diety’s birthday.
“Kaohsiung Deputy Mayor Derek Chen (陳金德) attended the banquet with other city officials,” Huang said.
KMT Legislator Huang Chao-shun (黃昭順) told the news conference that Kaohsiung Mayor Chen Chu’s (陳菊) administration had been campaigning for a DPP candidate at dengue fever prevention meetings by handing out lunchboxes and LED devices with name cards with the names of DPP candidate Liu Shih-fang (劉世芳) and Chen Chu.
Candidates who came under fire yesterday were quick to reject the accusations.
Chang said the DPP’s claims were simply aimed at “making a candidate not get elected,” which was a violation of the Civil Servants Elections and Recall Act (公務人員選舉罷免法).
If the DPP has, as it says it does, a video to back up its claims against him, “it should have handed it to the prosecutors instead of showing it to the media,” he said.
Hsu said that he had not funded or sponsored the banquet that the KMT complained about.
Liu’s office said the LED devices had nothing to do with the election.
“It was during the DPP primary and Liu’s assistant was handing out campaign flyers outside an activity center where another event was being held and the LED devices were being distributed,” the office said.
Liu’s office said it would take legal action over the KMT’s accusation.
Additional reporting by Wang Jung-hsiang
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