A Keelung borough warden on Tuesday was indicted for allegedly leading a tour to China, where participants were urged to vote for certain candidates.
Wu Shih-chin (吳石金), warden of Siaogang Borough (孝岡) in Keelung’s Sinyi District (信義), was charged by the Keelung District Prosecutors’ Office with contravening the Anti-Infiltration Act (反滲透法) and election laws.
He has been in pretrial detention after the Keelung District Court last month determined he presented a flight risk and might tamper with evidence, becoming the first warden to be detained over China’s alleged trips-for-votes scheme.
Photo: Lu Hsien-hsiu, Taipei Times
Wu is suspected of leading 12 wardens and 11 other people on a Beijing-funded tour of China’s Shandong Province from Nov. 21 to 26, according to prosecutors.
Members of the group only paid a fee of NT$5,500 before the trip and each received 1,100 yuan (US$155) in cash upon arrival, the office said.
The tour was accompanied by local Taiwan affairs officials, who urged the participants to vote for certain political parties, it said.
Prosecutors also accused Wu of buying votes by treating more than 30 local residents and officials to a banquet ostensibly for his son’s birthday, where they were urged to vote for a particular legislative candidate.
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