The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) yesterday established a task force to investigate allegations that Sunny Bank managing director Hsueh Ling (薛凌) bought votes in exchange for DPP party members' support in her bid for a legislator-at-large position.
The task force was formed following yesterday's complaint to party headquarters by former DPP member and Zanadau majority shareholder Su Hui-chen (
Su said yesterday that vote-buying in the DPP's primary was most rampant in two townships in Kaohsiung County -- Ta-liao (大寮) and Meinung (美濃).
PHOTO: LIU HSIN-TEH, TAIPEI TIMES
Su alleged that Hsueh had given bribes in the form of NT$500 in cash and gift boxes containing sausage, and that leaflets had been distributed encouraging recipients to exchange their votes for these items.
Su said that in addition to giving gifts, Hsueh had also offered improper loans to party members through Sunny Bank.
"The leaflets had one thing in common: They all asked voters to cast their ballot for Hsueh Ling," Su said.
Vote exchanges, which are deals struck between candidates in multiple-office elections, are common occurrences in the DPP's internal elections. An example of a vote-exchange arrangement would be an arrangement between a legislative candidate and a local chapter head in which the two agree to ask their supporters to back each other's candidacies. Hsueh is accused of vote-buying, a more serious allegation.
Su yesterday presented documents that she said indicated that Hsueh had granted improper loans to DPP lawmaker Lin Chin-hsing (
Su urged DPP authorities to look into the vote-buying matter, saying that having Hsueh at the top of the party's candidate list for legislators-at-large would taint the party's image and hurt the party in the year-end legislative elections.
The process for choosing at-large legislators is a two-round process. With one round completed, Hsueh still must perform well in a DPP opinion poll to win a spot on the candidate list.
"I've heard from many pan-blue supporters who have said they will vote for Hsueh in the DPP's telephone opinion poll to make sure Hsueh is on the DPP's legislator-at-large list. That way, the pan-blue alliance could cash in on the issue and wage a negative campaign against the DPP on the basis of vote-buying in the primaries. This would finish the DPP in the legislative elections," said the outspoken Su, who previously charged that Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) chief cashier Liu Tai-ying (劉泰英) had received kickbacks from her but then refused to grant her loans for the Zanadau Development (新瑞都) case.
The vote-buying task force will be headed by DPP Secretary-General Chang Chun-hsiung (張俊雄), who yesterday instructed lawyers to study the evidence Su presented.
In response to Su's request for immunity from party disciplinary action for witnesses who testify against Hsueh, DPP Deputy Secretary-General Chung Chia-pin (鍾佳濱) yesterday said the party would consider a system to allow witnesses to testify with protection.
According to the party's rules, candidates involved in vote-buying will lose their spots on the party's candidate list, while party members who accept bribes will be suspended from the party for up to three years.
Meanwhile, amid the vote-buying controversy, senior DPP Legislator Yen Ching-fu (
Yen said the DPP faces grave danger of losing the legislative battle if it can't face up to vote-buying problems. However, some observers said that Yeh had withdrawn because he didn't perform well in the primary's first round.
‘DENIAL DEFENSE’: The US would increase its military presence with uncrewed ships, and submarines, while boosting defense in the Indo-Pacific, a Pete Hegseth memo said The US is reorienting its military strategy to focus primarily on deterring a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan, a memo signed by US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth showed. The memo also called on Taiwan to increase its defense spending. The document, known as the “Interim National Defense Strategic Guidance,” was distributed this month and detailed the national defense plans of US President Donald Trump’s administration, an article in the Washington Post said on Saturday. It outlines how the US can prepare for a potential war with China and defend itself from threats in the “near abroad,” including Greenland and the Panama
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) is maintaining close ties with Beijing, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) said yesterday, hours after a new round of Chinese military drills in the Taiwan Strait began. Political parties in a democracy have a responsibility to be loyal to the nation and defend its sovereignty, DPP spokesman Justin Wu (吳崢) told a news conference in Taipei. His comments came hours after Beijing announced via Chinese state media that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s Eastern Theater Command was holding large-scale drills simulating a multi-pronged attack on Taiwan. Contrary to the KMT’s claims that it is staunchly anti-communist, KMT Deputy
RESPONSE: The government would investigate incidents of Taiwanese entertainers in China promoting CCP propaganda online in contravention of the law, the source said Taiwanese entertainers living in China who are found to have contravened cross-strait regulations or collaborated with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) could be subject to fines, a source said on Sunday. Several Taiwanese entertainers have posted on the social media platform Sina Weibo saying that Taiwan “must be returned” to China, and sharing news articles from Chinese state media. In response, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) has asked the Ministry of Culture to investigate whether the entertainers had contravened any laws, and asked for them to be questioned upon their return to Taiwan, an official familiar with the matter said. To curb repeated
Myanmar has turned down an offer of assistance from Taiwanese search-and-rescue teams after a magnitude 7.7 earthquake struck the nation on Friday last week, saying other international aid is sufficient, the National Fire Agency said yesterday. More than 1,700 have been killed and 3,400 injured in the quake that struck near the central Myanmar city of Mandalay early on Friday afternoon, followed minutes later by a magnitude 6.7 aftershock. Worldwide, 13 international search-and-rescue teams have been deployed, with another 13 teams mobilizing, the agency said. Taiwan’s search-and-rescue teams were on standby, but have since been told to stand down, as
RSS