The Democratic Progressive Party’s (DPP) Central Evaluation Committee yesterday suspended the membership rights of Tainan City Council Speaker Chiu Li-li (邱莉莉) and Deputy Speaker Lin Chih-chan (林志展) for three years over vote-buying accusations.
Vice President and DPP Chairman William Lai (賴清德) last week presided over a meeting of the party’s Central Standing Committee, which handed over Chiu and Lin’s case to the Central Evaluation Committee with the suggestion that their party membership rights be suspended.
Chiu and Lin were accused of vote-buying in the local elections in November last year. They were last month summoned by prosecutors for questioning and released on bail for NT$500,000 (US$16,643) and NT$200,000 respectively.
Photo: CNA
Prosecutors on Monday again summoned the two for questioning, before releasing Chiu and Lin on bail of NT$1.5 million and NT$1.2 million respectively.
Central Evaluation Committee director Lai Jui-lung (賴瑞隆) yesterday said that the DPP would await the trial’s outcome before taking further action.
“The members will be expelled from the party if proven guilty of vote-buying, this is a certainty,” he said.
Photo: Taipei Times
Chiu and Lin said they respected the party’s decision, but hoped it would institute measures to restore their honor should the court prove their innocence.
Chiu said the party’s charter and regulations should be respected, adding that the decision comes at a time that allows both men to carry out their duties at the Tainan City Council with neutrality.
Asked about the high bail payments, Chiu said they respected the judiciary and would work with prosecutors to the best of their abilities, refusing to make further comments about an ongoing investigation.
After the newly elected Tainan City Council convened, Chiu on Dec. 25 defeated then-council speaker Kuo Hsin-liang (郭信良) in a 36-21 vote that saw three Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) councilors break party ranks to back the DPP nominee.
Prosecutors earlier this month questioned 11 suspects, including Chiu and Lin, after a multi-agency task force executed search warrants at 26 locations, including the homes of the speaker and her deputy.
Prosecutors at the time said they received a tip-off about alleged attempts to manipulate the result of the Dec. 25 speaker election.
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