The Supreme Prosecutors’ Office on Wednesday established a task force to combat bribery and election-related violence, which is to take special note of new methods of paying bribes, such as cryptocurrencies and mobile payments.
The November local elections would be a challenge for the judiciary, especially in three areas — bribery, fake news and possible foreign intervention — Minister of Justice Tsai Ching-hsiang (蔡清祥) said at the establishment ceremony.
Local prosecutors’ offices have established temporary command centers to provide technical support when investigating election cases, Tsai said, exhorting the task force to stop at nothing to prosecute any person seeking to sway an election through wealth or violence.
Photo: CNA
Law enforcement officers and the judiciary should also take note of new methods of payment, such as cryptocurrencies and mobile payment systems, which could replace traditional ways of paying bribes, he said.
The judiciary should closely monitor any abnormal payments to election candidates or their heelers via the ministry’s Financial Intelligence Unit, he added.
The judiciary must also pay attention to whether an election has been swayed by fake news and, in the instance of confirmed fake news, the judiciary must act swiftly to debunk the claims as soon as possible, Tsai said.
Talking about anti-bribery measures is still a useful ploy and adequate use of the Internet to disseminate the message would also help convince young people to call out any acts of vote-buying, Prosecutor General Hsing Tai-chao (邢泰釗) said.
The central government plans to create and distribute anti-bribery videos to local prosecutors’ offices, airports and railway stations, he said.
Anti-bribery efforts and measures to prevent coercion by force would continue as usual, but prosecutorial units would prioritize the prosecution of cases involving fake information, Hsing said.
He added that he would ask local prosecutors’ offices to task prosecutors with looking into cases of suspected foreign invention, while stepping up police sweeps of underground currency exchanges and betting pools.
Hsing also mentioned cryptocurrency, online game credits and other things with monetary value that could be used to bribe voters as something to look out for.
The judiciary would be looking very closely at whether the source of payments come from foreign sources and prosecute those involved for contravening the Anti-Infiltration Act (反滲透法), Hsing said.
A fourth public debate was held today about restarting the recently decommissioned Ma-anshan Nuclear Power Plant, ahead of a referendum on the controversial issue to be held in less than two weeks. A referendum on Aug. 23 is to ask voters if they agree that “the Ma-anshan Nuclear Power Plant should continue operations upon approval by the competent authority and confirmation that there are no safety concerns.” Anyone over 18 years of age can vote in the referendum. The vote comes just three months after its final reactor shut down, officially making Taiwan nuclear-free. Taiwan People’s Party Chairman Huang Kuo-chang (黃國昌) represented
ENDORSING TAIWAN: Honduran presidential candidate Nasry Afura said that Honduras was ‘100 times better off’ when it was allied with Taipei The Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday said it would explore the possibility of restoring diplomatic relations with Honduras based on the principle of maintaining national interests and dignity. The ministry made the remarks in response to reporters’ questions regarding an article titled: “Will Taiwan Regain a Diplomatic Ally?” published in The Diplomat on Saturday. The article said Honduras’ presidential election in November could offer Taiwan the chance to regain an ally, as multiple candidates have promoted re-establishing diplomatic relations with Taiwan. Honduras severed diplomatic ties with Taiwan in March 2023 in favor of Beijing, but since switching its diplomatic recognition,
Scoot announced yesterday that starting in October, it would increase flights between Taipei and Japan’s Narita airport and Hokkaido, and between Singapore and Taipei. The low-cost airline, a subsidiary of Singapore Airlines, also said it would launch flights to Chiang Rai in Thailand, Okinawa and Tokyo’s Haneda airport between December and March next year. Flights between Singapore and Chiang Rai would begin on Jan. 1, with five flights per week operated by an Embraer E190-E2 aircraft, Scoot said. Flights between Singapore and Okinawa would begin on Dec. 15, with three flights per week operated by Airbus A320 aircraft, the airline said. Services between Singapore
‘ANGRY’: Forgetting the humiliations and sacrifices of ‘the people of the Republic of China’ experienced disqualified Lai from being president, Ma Ying-jeou said Former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) yesterday criticized President William Lai (賴清德) over what he called “phrasing that downplayed Japan’s atrocities” against China during World War II. Ma made the remarks in a post on Facebook on the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II. Ma said he was “angry and disappointed” that Lai described the anniversary as the end of World War II instead of a “victory in the war of resistance” — a reference to the end of the Second Sino-Japanese War (1937-1945). The eight-year war was a part of World War II, in which Japan and the other Axis
RSS