Taipei prosecutors have started an investigation into allegations that four top politicians involved in attempts to form a “blue-white” presidential ticket have contravened election regulations.
Listed as defendants are Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) presidential candidate and New Taipei City Mayor Hou You-yi (侯友宜), KMT Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫), former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) of the KMT and Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) Chairman and presidential candidate Ko Wen-je (柯文哲).
The case stemmed from judicial complaints filed last month with the Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office alleging that the KMT (blue) and the TPP (white) had engaged in bribery by offering money or other enticements to coax the other side to drop out of the race or accept a subordinate position.
Photo: CNA
The judicial complaints filed by Taipei Republic Office director Chilly Chen (陳峻涵) and attorney Huang Di-ying (黃帝穎) said that the KMT and the TPP had, during their negotiations, set targets and conditions on how they would divide political and government positions if they were to win the election.
“Hou and Ko, with Chu and Ma acting as mediators, were wheeling and dealing on who gets to control which government ministry or other government position. It is like criminal gangs splitting the loot after a major theft. Such talk is a serious insult to the intelligence of Taiwanese,” Chen said in his complaint.
A separate investigation is being conducted on Ko’s claim last month that he was offered US$200 million to drop out of the presidential race and agree to be Hou’s running mate on the KMT ticket, Taipei prosecutors said.
Huang said this contravened Article 84 of the Presidential and Vice Presidential Election and Recall Act (總統副總統選舉罷免法).
“Anyone who makes a candidate or a person qualified for a candidate agree to abandon the campaign or to perform certain campaign activities by asking for expected promises or delivering bribes or other undue benefits to the aforesaid party shall be condemned to fixed-term imprisonment of not less than three years and not more than ten years, and fined a sum of not less than NT$2,000,000 [US$63,664] and not more than NT$20,000,000,” Article 84 says.
The KMT and the TPP had met several times to discuss a joint ticket, with party aides and advisers making preparations and setting conditions in October, leading to negotiations between Hou, Chu, Ma and Ko on Nov. 15, then a final meeting on Nov. 23, which independent candidate Terry Gou (郭台銘), founder of Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海科技集團), also joined. The talks broke down as the parties bickered over the use of public surveys and other issues, with the principals refusing to back down from their positions.
The KMT and Ma’s office released statements lambasting Taipei prosecutors, and saying that the Taiwanese government is maligning a common practice, of parties negotiating to form a coalition government as seen in Western countries, but which the DPP has tarnished with its accusations.
Those making the accusations are the ones manipulating the justice system, the statements said.
“The TPP regrets that talk of cooperation between parties and of forming a coalition government has become a political tool to persecute the opposition,” said Wu Yi-hsuan (吳怡萱), a spokeswoman for Ko’s office, adding that the investigation is “a waste of the nation’s judicial resources.”
“The TPP shall wait for the outcome of the investigation, but our goal is still to form a coalition government to unite Taiwan. We will not back down and shall continue to create ... a better political culture for our future generations,” she said.
CLOSURES: Several forest recreation areas have been closed as a precaution, while some ferry and flight services have been suspended or rescheduled A land warning for Tropical Storm Danas was issued last night at 8:30pm, as the storm’s outer bands began bringing heavy rain to southeastern regions, including Hualien and Taitung counties, and the Hengchun Peninsula (恆春半島), according to the Central Weather Administration (CWA). As of 9:15pm, the storm was approximately 330km west-southwest of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan proper’s southernmost tip, moving north-northeast at 10-20kph, the CWA reported. A sea warning had already been issued at 8:30am yesterday. The storm had maximum sustained winds near its center of 83kph, with gusts of up to 108kph, according to the CWA. As of 9:30pm last night, Kaohsiung, Tainan,
POWERFUL DETERRENT: Precision fire and dispersed deployment of units would allow Taiwanese artillery to inflict heavy casualties in an invasion, a researcher said The nation’s military has boosted its self-defense capability with the establishment of a new company equipped with the US-supplied High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS). The company, part of the army’s 58th Artillery Command, is Taiwan’s first HIMARS unit. Minister of National Defense Wellington Koo (顧立雄), who presided over the formation ceremony in Taichung on Friday, called the unit a significant addition to the nation’s defensive strength, saying it would help deter adversaries from starting a war. The unit is made up of top-performing soldiers who received training in the US, according to the Ministry of National Defense. The HIMARS can be equipped with
UNILATERAL: The move from China’s aviation authority comes despite a previous 2015 agreement that any changes to flight paths would be done by consensus The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) yesterday slammed Beijing for arbitrarily opening the M503 flight route’s W121 connecting path, saying that such unilateral conduct disrespected the consensus between both sides and could destabilize the Taiwan Strait and the wider region. The condemnation came after the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) earlier yesterday announced it “has activated the W121 connecting path of the M503 flight route,” meaning that west-to-east flights are now permitted along the path. The newly activated west-to-east route is intended to “alleviate the pressure caused by the increase of flights,” China’s state-run Xinhua news agency quoted China’s Taiwan Affairs Office
STRONG WINDS: Without the Central Mountain Range as a shield, people should be ready for high-speed winds, CWA weather forecaster Liu Yu-chi said Danas was yesterday upgraded to a typhoon and could grow stronger as it moves closely along the nation’s west coastline, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. Hsinchu and Chiayi cities, Taichung, Tainan and Kaohsiung, as well as Hsinchu, Miaoli, Changhua, Yunlin, Nantou, Chiayi, Penghu and Pingtung counties have canceled work and school today. Work and school in Keelung, Taipei, New Taipei City and Taoyuan, and Yilan, Taitung, Hualien, Kinmen and Lienchiang (Matsu) counties would continue as usual, although offices and schools would be closed in Taoyuan’s Luju (蘆竹), Dayuan (大園), Guangyin (觀音) and Sinwu (新屋) districts. As of 5pm yesterday, the typhoon’s
RSS