Sun, Dec 17, 2023 page3

• China pauses free ‘poll’ trips: source

  PARTY PAUSED: Chinese officials halted the practice of treating Taiwanese municipal officials to trips after Taipei’s crackdown, a national security source said

  • By Su Yung-yao and Jake Chung / Staff reporter, with staff writer
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  The Chinese Communist Party has become aware of Taiwanese efforts to crack down on attempts to influence next month’s presidential and legislative elections and is allegedly delaying promised all-expenses-paid-for trips until the following year, a national security source with knowledge of the matter yesterday said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

  China has allegedly told its local contacts that if the election results were favorable, the number of people allowed on the trips could be increased, the source said.

  Taiwan’s judicial and prosecution system is aware of such developments and is looking into visits to China and whether such visits are connected to alleged vote buying and in contravention of the law, the source said.

  

  Chess pieces are seen in front of displayed Chinese and Taiwanese flags in this picture taken on Jan. 25 last year.

  Photo: Reuters, Dado Ruvic

  Such actions not only puts people in danger of contravening the Presidential and Vice Presidential Election and Recall Act (總統副總統選舉罷免法) and the Public Officials Election and Recall Act (公職人員選舉罷免法), but could also lead to a suspect facing more severe penalties for contravening the Anti-infiltration Act (反滲透法), the source said

  Commenting on Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Vice Chairman Andrew Hsia’s (夏立言) visit to China that started on Wednesday, the source said that Hsia might hope to persuade Chinese to desist from paying for Taiwanese borough wardens to visit China.

  Hsia’s visit might also be an attempt to convince the CCP to put more effort into arranging preferential tickets for Taiwanese returning to Taiwan to vote, the source said.

  The KMT has denied the allegations.

  Meanwhile, the national security source said that the CCP has been infiltrating Taiwanese society for many years and has an established routine, with provincial or local governments in China tasked with fostering friendly ties with Taiwanese districts or townships.

  While these tactics ensure that Chinese have greater influence on the township level, such influence is harder to carry up to the city level, much less the national level, the source said.

  Municipal elections are more challenging to influence than township-level elections, the source said.

  China has also been known to invite municipal mayors, county commissioners, academics, religious leaders and local public representatives to visit China and, during such visits, foster an air of pro-unification camaraderie, the source said

  The source said that CCP officials would carefully plant phrases such as “voting for another party could bring about cross-strait peace” while pledging “benefits” if the individual could help bring about a change in government.
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