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.
NATIONAL SECURITY: Authorities are working to confirm the identities of the military personnel involved and investigating possible illegal conduct and regulatory violations Authorities are probing possible national security implications after Kinmen police and immigration officers on Sunday found a Chinese woman allegedly posing as a tourist while engaging in prostitution involving more than 10 military personnel. The woman, surnamed Chen (陳), has since been deported, authorities said, adding that investigators are still working to confirm the identities of those implicated, as the records only listed code names and aliases. The case stemmed from a report received by the Kinmen District Prosecutors’ Office on Friday last week from the Jinhu Precinct of the Kinmen County Police Bureau. On Sunday, police, along with the National Immigration
GLOBALGIVING: ‘ Caving to external pressure is not acceptable for an organization that has cultivated justice reform and human rights for 30 years,’ one NGO said A slew of non-government organizations (NGOs) have withdrawn from the GlobalGiving fundraising platform after it announced it would use “Chinese Taipei” instead of “Taiwan” from next month. The Taiwan Good Rice Association wrote on Facebook on Friday that it was informed on April 28 via a teleconference call of the change, which was made because the platform wanted to operate in China. Taiwan Good Rice is to terminate all cooperative relationships with GlobalGiving in response to the platform’s “unilateral and non-negotiable” decision to remove references to Taiwan, the NGO said. “Taiwan is in the official name of Taiwan Good Rice Association and the
STAY COOL: The HPA recommended that people stay hydrated, use air-conditioning or fans while indoors, wear loose-fitting clothes and walk in the shade while outdoors Employers must implement measures such as installing cooling equipment, and providing drinking water and rest breaks for outdoor workers starting from Monday next week, the Taipei Department of Labor said on Sunday. Employers who fail to comply could face fines of NT$30,000 to NT$300,000 under the Occupational Safety and Health Act (職業安全衛生法), the department said. Businesses in Taipei employing fewer than 100 workers, as well as registered self-employed workers with labor insurance coverage, could receive on-site assessments and guidance from occupational safety consultants to help them apply for central government subsidies to implement or improve heat-protection measures, it said. Under the Ministry of
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairwoman Cheng Li-wun (鄭麗文) yesterday briefed her party’s Central Standing Committee regarding her scheduled visit to the US between Monday next week and June 16, saying that her purpose would be to persuade the US that the Republic of China (ROC) Constitution was a “one China” constitution that would foster stable and peaceful cross-strait relations. The ROC Constitution is the most important defense for all Taiwanese citizens, as it upholds our democracy and has contributed to our robust economy, which aligns with international and US interests, she said. “We would not be troublemakers and drag the US under,”
RSS