Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) presidential candidate Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) yesterday accused the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) of condoning vote-buying activities as she campaigned in Chiayi alongisde DPP legislative candidates Chen Ming-wen (陳明文) and Tsai Yi-yu (蔡易餘).
The nation in the past few days has been rocked by a string of probes and arrests of local politicians, including a KMT township council chairman, on suspicion of attempting to buy votes, she said.
The KMT showed “no resolve” in stopping electoral fraud and its behavior is “tantamount to condoning” it, Tsai said, calling on the public to “reject the vote-buying party with their ballots” and “put an end to the vote-buying culture once and for all.”
Photo: Reuters
An increasing amount of alleged electoral fraud has been reported in Chiayi during the last days before the election, particularly from the county’s “seaside region” (海區), involving KMT members, Tsai said, adding that there has been an attempt to “control democracy with money,” which “should not be tolerated and instead be eradicated in a democratic society.”
KMT presidential candidate Eric Chu (朱立倫) was “evading the issue” of the KMT’s alleged involvement in vote-buying and his claims of a DPP-led slander campaign were “irresponsible” and “incomprehensible,” Tsai said, adding that she would like to remind Chu that “the vast majority of vote-buying allegations involve the KMT.”
Chu could not claim to be a “reformer” without taking forceful actions to forbid vote-buying by party members, she said, adding that “the nation is watching Chu and the KMT’s response to the vote-buying scandal intently.”
Later yesterday at a press conference in Chaiyi, Tsai said that improving food safety standards would be a priority for the DPP administration, if she is elected.
DPP legislator-at-large candidate Wu Kun-yuh (吳焜裕), an associate professor at National Taiwan University College of Public Health and whom the party has allotted the first place on its list, said at the press conference that the government cannot afford to “do nothing” at a time when the nation is quickly losing confidence in food safety.
He called for the establishment of a “dedicated regulator” that would be able to keep track of the “origin of food products.”
Chiayi County Commissioner Helen Chang (張花冠) said that a future DPP administration would ensure food safety from the source.
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