Prosecutors on Friday requested that a Chinese immigrant be detained incommunicado on suspicion of leading dozens of people on a trip to China and telling them to support certain political parties.
The suspect, 49-year-old Tsai Zhan-ping (蔡占萍), moved to Taiwan 20 years ago from China’s Jiangsu Province for marriage.
Last year she was named a winner of the eighth “Dream Building Project for New Residents and their Children” award by the National Immigration Agency for her dedication to caring for her hearing-impaired son.
Photo: Reuters
Tsai also founded and serves as president of the Greater Kaohsiung Cross-Strait Economic and Cultural Promotion Association.
Investigators believe that Tsai, at the instruction of officers handling Taiwan affairs in the Jiangsu provincial government, led more than 30 people on a trip to Nantong City, the Kaohsiung District Prosecutors’ Office said.
Some of the people were Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) employees or assistants of city councilors, it said.
The trip was mostly paid for by Nantong City, including a banquet hosted by the Taiwan affairs officials, who shared “united front” propaganda, it said.
After returning, Tsai through a group chat encouraged the participants to support certain candidates and political parties, it added.
Seventeen people were brought in for questioning on Thursday, the office said.
As Tsai was uncooperative, prosecutors said they believe she poses a collusion or flight risk and applied with a court for her to be detained incommunicado.
The other 16 suspects and witnesses were released after questioning, the office added.
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