The Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) last year raised NT$84.3 million (US$2.61 million) in donations and spent no money on campaigning, the latest Control Yuan audits on the campaign finances of Taiwanese political parties yesterday revealed.
The audit report was published a day after police searched the offices of accounting firms and other companies linked to TPP Chairman Ko Wen-je’s (柯文哲) presidential campaign as part of a probe into alleged corruption and false reporting of campaign finances dating back several years.
Last year, the TPP raised NT$46.6 million in individual donations and NT$30.9 million from businesses while spending NT$71 million, including NT$37 million in personnel costs and NT$28.1 million in operational costs, the report said.
Photo: Fang Wei-li, Taipei Times
The TPP records showed no campaign expenditures and a net income of NT$13.6 million, it said.
Last year, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) raised NT$116 million in donations, including NT$74.4 million in individual donations and NT$39.3 million from businesses, the report showed.
The DPP spent NT$142 million last year, including NT$63.4 million in the party’s campaign expenses, NT$33.5 million in contributions to the campaigns of candidates the party nominated or endorsed, NT$20.9 million in personnel costs, and NT$20.2 million in operational costs, it said.
The DPP spent NT$25.9 million more than it raised, it said.
Last year, the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) raised NT$152.6 million in donations, including NT$101.2 million in individual donations and NT$50 million in business donations, the report showed.
The KMT spent NT$147 million, including NT$23.2 million in campaign expenditures, NT$15.8 million in contributions to its candidates’ campaigns, NT$55.8 million in personnel costs and NT$44.6 million in operational costs, it said.
The KMT had a surplus of NT$5.8 million, it said.
TPP Deputy Secretary-General Osmar Hsu (許甫) said that the party did not calculate total campaign expenditures separately, and that such costs were included in the operational spending of the party’s departments.
Authorities on Monday embarked on audits to investigate allegations concerning false reporting of political expenses, after the financial report on political donations for Ko and TPP vice presidential candidate Cynthia Wu (吳欣盈) was published on the Control Yuan’s Web site on July 16, the Control Yuan said in a news release on Tuesday.
The TPP has admitted errors in its financial records. The party allegedly did not report the income from ticket sales for a fundraising concert before the election. On Tuesday, it filed a request to investigate alleged wrongdoing by its accountant Tuanmu Cheng (端木正).
The Political Donations Act (政治獻金法) stipulates that a party’s prospective candidates could be fined NT$60,000 to NT$1.2 million for failing to record income and expenses, and provide receipts appropriately, the agency said, adding that donations which were not deposited into a dedicated account could be confiscated.
Reporting of political donation expenditure without relevant vouchers or documents would constitute an intentional false declaration and could also be fined NT$60,000 to NT$1.2 million, it added.
During the audit process, if an accountant is found to have contravened regulations, he could be punished in accordance with Article 63 of the Certified Public Accountant Act, it said.
The case could be sent to prosecuting authorities for further investigation in accordance with the Code of Criminal Procedure (刑事訴訟法) if other criminal suspicions are found, it added.
MORE VISITORS: The Tourism Administration said that it is seeing positive prospects in its efforts to expand the tourism market in North America and Europe Taiwan has been ranked as the cheapest place in the world to travel to this year, based on a list recommended by NerdWallet. The San Francisco-based personal finance company said that Taiwan topped the list of 16 nations it chose for budget travelers because US tourists do not need visas and travelers can easily have a good meal for less than US$10. A bus ride in Taipei costs just under US$0.50, while subway rides start at US$0.60, the firm said, adding that public transportation in Taiwan is easy to navigate. The firm also called Taiwan a “food lover’s paradise,” citing inexpensive breakfast stalls
US PUBLICATION: The results indicated a change in attitude after a 2023 survey showed 55 percent supported full-scale war to achieve unification, the report said More than half of Chinese were against the use of force to unify with Taiwan under any circumstances, a survey conducted by the Atlanta, Georgia-based Carter Center and Emory University found. The survey results, which were released on Wednesday in a report titled “Sovereignty, Security, & US-China Relations: Chinese Public Opinion,” showed that 55.1 percent of respondents agreed or somewhat agreed that “the Taiwan problem should not be resolved using force under any circumstances,” while 24.5 percent “strongly” or “somewhat” disagreed with the statement. The results indicated a change in attitude after a survey published in “Assessing Public Support for (Non)Peaceful Unification
PLUGGING HOLES: The amendments would bring the legislation in line with systems found in other countries such as Japan and the US, Legislator Chen Kuan-ting said Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Chen Kuan-ting (陳冠廷) has proposed amending national security legislation amid a spate of espionage cases. Potential gaps in security vetting procedures for personnel with access to sensitive information prompted him to propose the amendments, which would introduce changes to Article 14 of the Classified National Security Information Protection Act (國家機密保護法), Chen said yesterday. The proposal, which aims to enhance interagency vetting procedures and reduce the risk of classified information leaks, would establish a comprehensive security clearance system in Taiwan, he said. The amendment would require character and loyalty checks for civil servants and intelligence personnel prior to
The China Coast Guard has seized control of a disputed reef near a major Philippine military outpost in the South China Sea, Beijing’s state media said, adding to longstanding territorial tensions with Manila. Beijing claims sovereignty over almost all of the South China Sea and has waved away competing assertions from other countries as well as an international ruling that its position has no legal basis. China and the Philippines have engaged in months of confrontations in the contested waters, and Manila is taking part in sweeping joint military drills with the US which Beijing has slammed as destabilizing. The Chinese coast guard
RSS