The Taichung District Court yesterday granted the request of Taichung prosecutors to detain two Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) staff members suspected of falsifying signatures on petitions aimed at recalling two Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmakers.
Chen Chien-feng (陳劍鋒) and Wu Kang-lung (伍康龍) from the KMT’s Taichung chapter allegedly committed multiple offenses to push recall votes against DPP legislators Tsai Chi-chang (蔡其昌) and Ho Hsin-chun (何欣純), the Taichung District Prosecutors’ Office said yesterday.
The alleged offenses include contraventions of the Personal Data Protection Act (個人資料保護法) and the Public Officials Election and Recall Act (公職人員選舉罷免法), the office said.
Photo: CNA
Prosecutors asked the court for permission to detain Chen and Wu, saying that it was necessary to prevent possible collusion and destruction of evidence.
Prosecutors on Friday questioned 13 people, including Chen and Wu, regarding alleged signature falsification in the recall campaigns against Tsai and Ho.
Six were released on bail ranging from NT$100,000 to NT$200,000 (US$3,219 to US$6,438) and ordered not to leave the country. Five faced no further action.
Six people involved in a separate recall effort in Taichung against KMT legislators Yen Kuan-heng (顏寬恒), Liao Wei-hsiang (廖偉翔) and Huang Chien-hao (黃健豪) were also questioned, with none facing further action.
Prosecutors initiated the probes following a Central Election Commission report that cited allegations of forgery, including petitions bearing the signatures of deceased people.
Prosecutors on Friday searched eight locations in Taichung and Changhua County, including offices associated with “one or more political parties,” as well as residences and district offices of those questioned.
The probe showed that the recall campaigns had collected petitions bearing the signatures of 154 dead people, with 83 on petitions against Tsai, 66 against Ho, three against Liao, and one each against Yen and Huang, commission data showed.
The raids mirrored actions by prosecutors nationwide in the past few weeks, mostly targeting KMT offices.
As of yesterday, prosecutors had also searched KMT chapters in Taipei, New Taipei City, Keelung, Yilan County, Changhua County, Kaohsiung and Tainan.
The investigations have resulted in the detention of several KMT chapter officials, including KMT Taipei chapter chairwoman Huang Lu Chin-ju (黃呂錦茹).
The recall campaigns were started by the DPP, with DPP caucus whip Ker Chien-ming (柯建銘) in early January calling for a mass recall of KMT lawmakers.
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