The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) yesterday accused Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Taipei City mayoral candidate Sean Lien (連勝文) of vote-buying via flight tickets and “walking fees,” urging prosecutors to investigate.
“A KMT supporters’ club in China said that, for Taiwanese voters in China who back the KMT in the nine-in-one elections, they would help buy round-trip flights to Taiwan that cost 4,000 yuan (US$653) for the discounted price of 1,400 yuan each,” DPP spokesperson Huang Di-ying (黃帝穎) said.
“It is a violation of the law set by the Ministry of Justice which prohibited anyone providing voters with transportation expenses from their location of residence to poll stations; are prosecutors trying to ignore it?” Huang said.
Huang, who is also a lawyer, added that, according to a ban imposed by the ministry in 2009, providing transportation or travel expenses to voters constitutes “vote-buying.”
In addition, Huang said the Chinese Production Party (CPP) paid NT$1,000 each to people who attended a pro-Lien rally that it organized last week.
According to the Liberty Times (the Taipei Times’ sister newspaper), a worker at the event surnamed Liu (劉) was seen handing out cash to participants who had signed up in advance.
Event host Lu Yuexiang (盧月香) said at the rally that, in the run-up to the 2008 presidential election, she paid for Taiwanese residing in China to fly back to vote, as long as they voted for President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九), Huang said.
“These clearly violate the ministry’s rule and the Election and Recall Act for Public Servants [公職人員選舉罷免法],” Huang said. “I hereby call on prosecutors to investigate.”
UPGRADE: The Kang Ding-class frigate is replacing its Chaparall missiles with Tien Chien II and Hua Yang VLS, which would provide it with long-range, 360° air defense Taiwan plans to produce 1,200 to 1,376 Hai Chien II missiles (海劍二, Sea Sword II) — also known as TC-2N — to serve as the standard air defense system of the navy’s surface combatant fleet, a source said yesterday. Last week, the Hai Chien II, the naval version of the Tien Kung II missile (天劍二, Sky Sword II), completed a live-fire test in waters off the National Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology’s Jiupeng facility (九鵬) in Pingtung County’s Manjhou Township (滿州). The MIM72 Chaparral and other dated air defense missiles that currently arm Taiwanese ships have inadequate range to combat Chinese
REASONS FOR TRAVEL: An assistant professor said that proposed amendments to penalize drivers if they used drugs overseas would not deter people from traveling People who operate a motor vehicle under the influence of marijuana would have their driver’s license revoked, even if they used the substance while overseas, the Ministry of Transportation and Communications said yesterday, citing proposed amendments to the Road Traffic Management and Penalty Act (道路交通管理處罰條例). The amendments would also authorize the government to revoke the licenses of people determined to have used Category 1 or Category 2 narcotics, even if they were not operating a vehicle while under the influence of drugs, as well as ban them from taking the license test for three years, the ministry said. People aged 18 or
HEAVY WEATHER: Typhoon Jangmi is due to crash straight into the Ryukyus as airlines look to shift flights to larger aircraft or cancel flights to Okinawa entirely Taiwan’s international air carriers announced flight adjustments over the weekend as Typhoon Jangmi is forecast to hit the Ryukyu Islands today and tomorrow. The Central Weather Administration (CWA) upgraded Jangmi from a tropical storm to a typhoon at 8am yesterday, with the eye located 580km south of Naha city. It was moving north at 19kph. Today, China Airlines’ CI-120, CI-121, CI-122 and CI-123 flights between Taoyuan and Naha, Okinawa, have been canceled as well as CI-132 and CI-133 between Kaohsiung and Naha. EVA Air’s BR-112, BR-113, BR-186 and BR-185 flights between Taoyuan and Naha are also canceled. Low-cost carrier Tigerair Taiwan canceled IT-230,
Johanne Liou (劉喬安), a Taiwanese woman who shot to unwanted fame during the Sunflower movement protests in 2014, returned to Taiwan last night after being deported from the US. She is to stand trial in Taiwan for charges involving embezzlement, fraud and drug crimes. The Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) said it took her into custody at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport and would first question her before transferring her to the New Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office. She was arrested upon disembarking a flight from San Francisco that landed shortly before 7pm. Liou absconded to the US in 2019 after jumping bail
RSS