A Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) delegation visiting China has continued to spark controversy, with politicians within and outside the party saying the group is raising funds from Taiwanese businesspeople there for the Nov. 26 local elections.
KMT Taipei City Councilor Lee Ming-hsien (李明賢) said he has from the very start opposed the visit by the delegation, led by KMT Vice Chairman Andrew Hsia (夏立言), and has heard talk within the party that the group has been mandated to solicit donations from the Taiwanese community.
However, “the more money Hsia gets during the visit, the more votes our party will lose at the grassroots level,” Lee said.
Photo: CNA
Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Liu Chao-hao (劉櫂豪) said he has also heard the same rumor in political circles and understands a party’s need to procure funding, but “any political party must differentiate where it is getting the donation from and what price it has to pay for it.”
Local media reports have also cited KMT officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, as saying the same thing.
“In the recent elections, the pan-blue camp was short of funds and had difficulty running campaigns. This is why we need a top official — such as a vice chairman — to engage and interact with Taiwanese businesspeople in China,” a KMT official said.
“If he is successful in procuring more funds, it would really help in this coming election, which involves city mayors, county commissioners and local councilors. For our party, this would be life-saving money to raise our chances of winning,” the official said.
Other media reports quoted KMT members as saying that the party’s priority is to secure wins for the mayoral contests in the six special municipalities by providing financial and other campaign resources, with the most important goal being to help KMT Legislator Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) win the Taipei mayoral race.
Asked about the reports while canvassing votes in Taipei, Chiang said that to his knowledge, the delegation’s visit “is to find the problems and difficulties facing Taiwanese businesspeople, students and entrepreneurs in China.”
Taiwan Thinktank member Tung Li-wen (董立文), a DPP member, said that if the reports are true, it could be a violation of the Political Donations Act (政治獻金法), which says Taiwanese are eligible to donate and contribute funds to political parties for campaigning activities, but there are key restrictions and prohibitions on the sources of funding.
Tung said the delegation would meet with Taiwanese businesspeople, but they are being monitored by China’s Taiwan Affairs Office and other Chinese officials.
“It is the Chinese side that must approve and give the green light to certain Taiwanese business figures in China on donating election funds to the KMT,” he said.
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