The Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) yesterday said it has expelled Ma Chih-wei (馬治薇), a former spokeswoman for its Taoyuan chapter, for contravening ethics rules and damaging the party’s reputation, after she was on Friday was investigated and detained for allegedly receiving campaign donations in the form of cryptocurrency from China.
Ma, an independent legislative candidate in Taoyuan, is also the first candidate to be put under pre-trial detention in the run-up to Saturday’s presidential and legislative elections.
The TPP yesterday afternoon issued a statement saying that as Ma is suspected of contravening the Anti-Infiltration Act (反滲透法) and has been detained, the party’s central review committee determined to she had contravened the party’s ethics rules and seriously damaged the party’s reputation, so it expelled her.
Photo: CNA
It said that Ma had originally sought the party’s nomination as a legislative candidate, but as the party’s selection mechanism had concerns about her associations with China, it did not nominate her and later dismissed her from her duties in its Taoyuan chapter.
TPP Chairman and presidential candidate Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) said that Ma had applied to run as a legislator, but failed to pass the TPP central review committee’s voting because they found she has close relations with China.
Ma later announced her candidacy as an independent, he said.
“We are still looking into the matter,” he added.
Regarding why he stood with Ma at a recent campaign event and took a photograph with her, Ko said it was impossible for him to know everyone’s background, and as his canvassing itinerary is open to the public, he cannot avoid anyone standing near him unless there is a security threat.
In response to the controversy, Ma’s campaign office issued a statement yesterday denying the claims that she is involved in any illegal activities that would harm Taiwan.
"Ma Chih-wei loves Taiwan and is an innocent young person," the statement said.
Separately, Taiwan Statebuilding Party Chairperson Wang Hsing-huan (王興煥) yesterday said Ko often “denies” or “plays dumb” when faced with controversies, and that Ma’s case might only be the tip of the iceberg.
As Ko previously made a remark that “China wants me to run for president,” he should disclose the political donations that the TPP received as soon as possible, Wang said.
As the case showed how China is using cryptocurrencies to fund candidates in Taiwan to interfere the election, there might be more methods of cash transfer that have not been revealed, he said, adding that receiving donations through online livestreaming is also attracting attention, and that the TPP should also publicize the donations it received through its livestreaming programs.
Additional reporting by Lin Che-yuan
The first of 10 new high-capacity trains purchased from South Korea’s Hyundai Rotem arrived at the Port of Taipei yesterday to meet the demands of an expanding metro network, Taipei Rapid Transit Corp (TRTC) said yesterday. The train completed a three-day, 1,200km voyage from the Port of Masan in South Korea, the company said. Costing NT$590 million (US$18.79 million) each, the new six-carriage trains feature a redesigned interior based on "human-centric" transportation concepts, TRTC said. The design utilizes continuous longitudinal seating to widen the aisles and optimize passenger flow, while also upgrading passenger information displays and driving control systems for a more comfortable
Instead of focusing solely on the threat of a full-scale military invasion, the US and its allies must prepare for a potential Chinese “quarantine” of Taiwan enforced through customs inspections, Stanford University Hoover fellow Eyck Freymann said in a Foreign Affairs article published on Wednesday. China could use various “gray zone” tactics in “reconfiguring the regional and ultimately the global economic order without a war,” said Freymann, who is also a nonresident research fellow at the US Naval War College. China might seize control of Taiwan’s links to the outside world by requiring all flights and ships entering or leaving Taiwan
Taiwan's first indigenous defense submarine, the SS-711 Hai Kun (海鯤, or Narwhal), departed for its 13th sea trial at 7am today, marking its seventh submerged test, with delivery to the navy scheduled for July. The outing also marked its first sea deployment since President William Lai (賴清德) boarded the submarine for an inspection on March 19, drawing a crowd of military enthusiasts who gathered to show support. The submarine this morning departed port accompanied by CSBC Corp’s Endeavor Manta (奮進魔鬼魚號) uncrewed surface vessel and a navy M109 assault boat. Amid public interest in key milestones such as torpedo-launching operations and overnight submerged trials,
Quarantine awareness posters at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport have gone viral for their use of wordplay. Issued by the airport branch of the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Agency, the posters feature sniffer dogs making a range of facial expressions, paired with advisory messages built around homophones. “We update the messages for holidays and campaign needs, periodically refreshing materials to attract people’s attention,” quarantine officials said. “The aim is to use the dogs’ appeal to draw focus to quarantine regulations.” A Japanese traveler visiting Taiwan has posted a photo on X of a poster showing a quarantine dog with a
RSS