One person has been detained, while six others have posted bail after being questioned by prosecutors on suspicion of purchasing personal information to use in Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密) founder Terry Gou’s (郭台銘) signature drive to appear on next year’s presidential ballot.
The detainee, a woman surnamed Shen (沈), and the other six were questioned by the Taipei Shilin District Prosecutors’ Office after being linked to an investigation into reports that some people were being paid NT$400 for their signatures, while others had no idea why their names were among the signatures gathered.
The seven are suspected of buying customer lists from pawnshops in New Taipei City and using the information for the signature drive, prosecutors said.
Photo: CNA
The suspects face charges for breaching the Presidential and Vice Presidential Election and Recall Act (總統副總統選舉罷免法), prosecutors said, adding that people who offer bribes and other undue benefits for a person’s signature during such a drive can be sentenced to up to seven years in prison and fined up to NT$10 million (US$309,138).
Similar cases have been reported across Taiwan, National Police Agency Director-General Huang Ming-chao (黃明昭) said yesterday.
Police are investigating reports of bribery, people buying lists of personal information and other illegal activities that have allegedly taken place at Gou’s signature drive stations, Huang said.
Local media reported that a business tycoon surnamed Chen (陳), who owns several hot spring hotels and properties in Taipei’s Beitou District (北投), was one of the six suspects who posted bail.
He reportedly paid NT$3 million, the highest bond posted, while the lowest paid was NT$15,000.
Gou’s campaign spokesman Huang Shih-hsiu (黃士修) denied any direct relationship with the suspects.
“Those local stations ... embroiled in bribery allegations are not associated with our official offices for Gou’s signature drive. We have nothing to do with those involved, and the people at our offices do not even know [them],” he said.
“When we started the signature drive, from day one, we stressed that there would be no financial benefit for people to sign on, as Guo and his aides have explicitly forbidden any illegal activities,” Huang Shih-hsiu said. “We shall cooperate with prosecutors for the investigation.”
Gou canceled all planned appearances yesterday, leading to speculation that it was was due to the investigation or because Chinese tax authorities had searched Hon Hai’s offices in China.
Gou’s campaign office yesterday morning announced that he would not attend a banquet at Jhongsing Temple (忠興宮) in New Taipei City’s Shulin District (樹林), which he had planned to attend with Taiwan People’s Party Chairman and presidential candidate Ko Wen-je (柯文哲).
Gou’s running mate, Tammy Lai (賴佩霞), took his place.
Huang Shih-hsiu said that Gou had just made changes to his personal itinerary and had not canceled because of either investigation.
“But Gou felt it was not quite proper, so he arranged for ... Lai to take his place ... [at] the Jhongsing Temple activities,” Huang said.
Additional reporting by Yang Kuo-wen
and Huang Ching-hsuan
The US government has signed defense cooperation agreements with Japan and the Philippines to boost the deterrence capabilities of countries in the first island chain, a report by the National Security Bureau (NSB) showed. The main countries on the first island chain include the two nations and Taiwan. The bureau is to present the report at a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee tomorrow. The US military has deployed Typhon missile systems to Japan’s Yamaguchi Prefecture and Zambales province in the Philippines during their joint military exercises. It has also installed NMESIS anti-ship systems in Japan’s Okinawa
‘WIN-WIN’: The Philippines, and central and eastern European countries are important potential drone cooperation partners, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung said Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) in an interview published yesterday confirmed that there are joint ventures between Taiwan and Poland in the drone industry. Lin made the remark in an exclusive interview with the Chinese-language Liberty Times (the Taipei Times’ sister paper). The government-backed Taiwan Excellence Drone International Business Opportunities Alliance and the Polish Chamber of Unmanned Systems on Wednesday last week signed a memorandum of understanding in Poland to develop a “non-China” supply chain for drones and work together on key technologies. Asked if Taiwan prioritized Poland among central and eastern European countries in drone collaboration, Lin
BACK TO WORK? Prosecutors said they are considering filing an appeal, while the Hsinchu City Government said it has applied for Ann Kao’s reinstatement as mayor The High Court yesterday found suspended Hsinchu mayor Ann Kao (高虹安) not guilty of embezzling assistant fees, reducing her sentence to six months in prison commutable to a fine from seven years and four months. The verdict acquitted Kao of the corruption charge, but found her guilty of causing a public official to commit document forgery. The High Prosecutors’ Office said it is reviewing the ruling and considering whether to file an appeal. The Taipei District Court in July last year sentenced Kao to seven years and four months in prison, along with a four-year deprivation of civil rights, for contravening the Anti-Corruption
NO CONFIDENCE MOTION? The premier said that being toppled by the legislature for defending the Constitution would be a democratic badge of honor for him Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) yesterday announced that the Cabinet would not countersign the amendments to the local revenue-sharing law passed by the Legislative Yuan last month. Cho said the decision not to countersign the amendments to the Act Governing the Allocation of Government Revenues and Expenditures (財政收支劃分法) was made in accordance with the Constitution. “The decision aims to safeguard our Constitution,” he said. The Constitution stipulates the president shall, in accordance with law, promulgate laws and issue mandates with the countersignature of the head of the Executive Yuan, or with the countersignatures of both the head of the Executive Yuan and ministers or
RSS