Prosecutor-General Hsing Tai-chao (邢泰釗) yesterday vowed an all-out effort by local prosecutors and police to foil vote- buying as he headed to Taitung County to oversee an investigation into allegations of election breaches.
Taitung County prosecutors said that since last month, they have received more than 200 reports and complaints of vote-buying by candidates, as well as other election offenses, and have gathered evidence for 21 cases to go to court.
Among the 21 cases, six people have been detained and 21 released on bail, Taitung County Chief Prosecutor Chen Hsiao-chian (陳筱茜) said, adding that police have seized NT$530,000 in cash allegedly for use to buy votes.
Photo courtesy of the Taitung County Prosecutors’ Office
Hsing, head of the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office, on Nov. 13 went to Taitung City to convene a working meeting and preside over a ceremony on combating vote-buying and other offenses.
Hsing for the past month has traveled across the nation to reinforce the judiciary’s message and commitment to ensuring fair elections.
Since Nov. 13, Taitung prosecutors have searched 126 locations after receiving tipoffs or reports of vote-buying, and taken in more than 100 people for questioning.
Hsing told prosecutors to thoroughly investigate each case and press for the indictment of candidates suspected of buying votes or other election offenses.
He warned that while some candidates might win in the elections, they can still be removed from office.
Separately, prosecutors in Yilan County questioned Lin Le-tzu (林樂賜), an independent candidate running for Toucheng Township (頭城) mayor. Lin was released yesterday after posting bail of NT$300,000.
Prosecutors said they had uncovered evidence that Lin had given cash to four “vote brokers” and allegedly instructed them to distribute NT$500 or NT$1,000 bills to residents to persuade them to vote for him.
Law enforcement officials on Thursday searched Lin’s residence, confiscated NT$153,000 in cash and took 20 people in for questioning.
The suspected vote brokers were released yesterday after posting bail of NT$5,000 to NT$200,000.
In another alleged vote-buying incident, local authorities yesterday searched a campaign office in Pingtung County’s Hengchun Township (恆春) and summoned 20 people for questioning.
Local police said that after being tipped off last month, they started surveillance and took action after verifying that cash was being used to buy votes.
They said the case involved several township representatives and one county councilor candidate.
Elsewhere, prosecutors carried out a preliminary investigation to gather evidence and take statements from witnesses on allegations of vote-buying in the past two days in Taichung, Kaohsiung, Kinmen County, Chiayi County, Yunlin County and several other jurisdictions.
Such incidents have also been reported in other cities and counties, as judiciary officials and police units are on a strict watch to clamp down on these illegal activities.
INCREASED CAPACITY: The flights on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays would leave Singapore in the morning and Taipei in the afternoon Singapore Airlines is adding four supplementary flights to Taipei per week until May to meet increased tourist and business travel demand, the carrier said on Friday. The addition would raise the number of weekly flights it operates to Taipei to 18, Singapore Airlines Taiwan general manager Timothy Ouyang (歐陽漢源) said. The airline has recorded a steady rise in tourist and business travel to and from Taipei, and aims to provide more flexible travel arrangements for passengers, said Ouyang, who assumed the post in July last year. From now until Saturday next week, four additional flights would depart from Singapore on Monday, Wednesday, Friday
Eight Chinese naval vessels and 24 military aircraft were detected crossing the median line of the Taiwan Strait between 6am yesterday and 6am today, the Ministry of National Defense said this morning. The aircraft entered Taiwan’s northern, central, southwestern and eastern air defense identification zones, the ministry said. The armed forces responded with mission aircraft, naval vessels and shore-based missile systems to closely monitor the situation, it added. Eight naval vessels, one official ship and 36 aircraft sorties were spotted in total, the ministry said.
The Ministry of National Defense yesterday reported the return of large-scale Chinese air force activities after their unexplained absence for more than two weeks, which had prompted speculation regarding Beijing’s motives. China usually sends fighter jets, drones and other military aircraft around the nation on a daily basis. Interruptions to such routine are generally caused by bad weather. The Ministry of National Defense said it had detected 26 Chinese military aircraft in the Taiwan Strait over the previous 24 hours. It last reported that many aircraft on Feb. 25, when it spotted 30 aircraft, saying Beijing was carrying out another “joint combat
Taiwan successfully defended its women’s 540 kilogram title and won its first-ever men’s 640 kg title at the 2026 World Indoor Tug of War Championships in Taipei yesterday. In the women’s event, Taiwan’s eight-person squad reached the final following a round-robin preliminary round and semifinals featuring teams from Ukraine, Japan, Thailand, Vietnam, the Basque Country and South Korea. In the finals, they swept the Basque team 2-0, giving the team composed mainly of National Taiwan Normal University students and graduates its second championship in a row, and its fourth in five years. Team captain
RSS