Zhou Manzhi (周滿芝), head of the Taiwan New Immigrants’ Association, which assists Chinese spouses in Taiwan, was last night released without bail after being detained on suspicion of vote-buying and setting up Chinese Communist Party (CCP) networks in Taiwan.
Kaohsiung prosecutors had earlier this week charged her with breaches of the National Security Act (國家安全法) amid allegations that she had been received funding from China’s Taiwan Affairs Office (TAO).
They said that evidence showed that Zhou received money and instructions from the TAO to recruit Taiwanese to join the CCP, and to conduct “united front” propaganda to subvert Taiwan’s sovereignty and national security.
Photo: Wu Cheng-feng, Taipei Times
Prosecutors have transferred the case to the Kaohsiung branch of the High Court, which covers national security cases, and applied for pretrial detention.
In December last year, Zhou, along with Hsu Shao-tung (徐少東), the chairman of SunLine International who has been detained on allegations of investment fraud and producing fake public surveys to influence the Jan. 13 elections, and others came under investigation for allegedly leading a 60-person group on a trip to China’s Hunan Province, with all expenses paid for by the TAO and the local Chinese government.
Prosecutors said that aside from material evidence, witnesses have said that during the tour and at meetings with CCP officials, Zhou asked them to vote for certain party candidates when they return to Taiwan, and promoted CCP propaganda, such as “peaceful unification for Taiwan” and “both sides of the Taiwan Strait belong to the same family.”
Zhou and other suspects were later listed as suspects under the Anti-Infiltration Act (反滲透法) and the Presidential and Vice Presidential Election and Recall Act (總統副總統選舉罷免法).
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