The Taichung District Prosecutors’ Office on Tuesday said that it had opened a probe into allegations that Beijing is buying off borough wardens with trips to China ahead of next month’s presidential and legislative elections.
The investigation revolves around six people who might have contravened the Public Officials Election and Recall Act (公職人員選舉罷免法) and Anti-Infiltration Act (反滲透法), the office said, adding that police were tasked with the probe.
A group mainly composed of wardens and people active in local politics are under investigation, it said.
Photo: Chen Chien-chi, Taipei Times
China has been targeting wardens and other community-level officials in central Taiwan with tour deals in an attempt to interfere with the upcoming elections, sources said.
The group tours cost NT$13,000 to NT$15,000 per person, but Chinese officials shoulder a generous portion of that, sometimes paying almost in full, Taichung wardens said.
Multiple wardens in Taichung’s Tanzih (潭子) and Fongyuan (豐原) districts received suspicious calls from self-claimed Taiwanese entrepreneurs about group tours to China, they said.
Most wardens in the region were reluctant to break the law and too busy with campigning to attend such tours, they said.
Meanwhile, a score of teachers and principals from public schools in Keelung visited China’s Shandong Province on a five-day tour group that might also be funded by China, TV channel SETN reported on Tuesday, citing a leaked itinerary.
Members of the 10-day tour paid NT$9,000 per person — an unusually low price, it said.
Keelung City Councilor Jiho Chang (張之豪), of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), expressed concern over China’s infiltration of schools, adding that the cheapness of the trip raises red flags.
Separately, the Ciaotou District Prosecutors’ Office in Kaohsiung yesterday said it was investigating five people over accusations they had arranged free trips to China for dozens of voters in a bid to “influence” next month’s elections.
They allegedly arranged trips to China’s Hunan Province last month for 60 people from Kaohsiung and Taitung County and offered "benefits,” including free meals, accommodation and transportation, it said.
In return, they “asked for their support for candidates from certain political parties and with specific political leanings in an attempt to influence voters’ intentions and the election results,” the prosecutors said.
Additional reporting by Ou Su-mei,
Chang Hsuan-che, Lu Hsien-Hsiu, and AFP
The first global hotel Keys Selection by the Michelin Guide includes four hotels in Taiwan, Michelin announced yesterday. All four received the “Michelin One Key,” indicating guests are to experience a “very special stay” at any of the locations as the establishments are “a true gem with personality. Service always goes the extra mile, and the hotel provides much more than others in its price range.” Of the four hotels, three are located in Taipei and one in Taichung. In Taipei, the One Key accolades were awarded to the Capella Taipei, Kimpton Da An Taipei and Mandarin Oriental Taipei. Capella Taipei was described by
EVA Airways today confirmed the death of a flight attendant on Saturday upon their return to Taiwan and said an internal investigation has been launched, as criticism mounted over a social media post accusing the airline of failing to offer sufficient employee protections. According to the post, the flight attendant complained of feeling sick on board a flight, but was unable to take sick leave or access medical care. The crew member allegedly did not receive assistance from the chief purser, who failed to heed their requests for medical attention or call an ambulance once the flight landed, the post said. As sick
Minister of Economic Affairs Kung Ming-hsin (龔明鑫) yesterday said that private-sector refiners are willing to stop buying Russian naphtha should the EU ask them to, after a group of non-governmental organizations, including the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA), criticized the nation’s continued business with the country. While Taiwan joined the US and its Western allies in putting broad sanctions on Russia after it invaded Ukraine in 2022, it did not explicitly ban imports of naphtha, a major hard-currency earner for Russia. While state-owned firms stopped importing Russian oil in 2023, there is no restriction on private companies to
INDUSTRY: Beijing’s latest export measures go beyond targeting the US and would likely affect any country that uses Chinese rare earths or related tech, an academic said Taiwanese industries could face significant disruption from China’s newly tightened export controls on rare earth elements, as much of Taiwan’s supply indirectly depends on Chinese materials processed in Japan, a local expert said yesterday. Kristy Hsu (徐遵慈), director of the Taiwan ASEAN Studies Center at the Chung-Hua Institution for Economic Research, said that China’s latest export measures go far beyond targeting the US and would likely affect any country that uses Chinese rare earths or related technologies. With Japan and Southeast Asian countries among those expected to be hit, Taiwan could feel the impact through its reliance on Japanese-made semi-finished products and
RSS