Prosecutors yesterday charged former legislator and Mainland Affairs Council deputy minister Chang Hsien-yao (張顯耀) with contravening the Anti-Infiltration Act (反滲透法) for allegedly attempting to interfere in last year’s election.
The Ciaotou District Prosecutors’ Office indictment said that Chang, under direction from China, used fabricated polling data to try and promote Hon Hai Precision Industry Co founder Terry Gou’s (郭台銘) presidential campaign.
Chang was first questioned in the case in January last year and released on bail of NT$1 million (US$30,503).
Photo: Lee Hui-chou, Taipei Times
In the months around the presidential election, the office investigated several cases of Chinese government agencies paying for Taiwan-based individuals and associations to travel to China, where they were encouraged to support specific candidates and parties.
Some of these trips included village and township officials, whose travel expenses were subsidized by Chinese authorities, prosecutors said.
Participants said the trips were organized by China’s Taiwan Affairs Office, and they were asked to repeat pro-unification phrases and encouraged to vote for specific candidates, prosecutors said.
The indictment alleges that Chang followed instructions from Chinese officials to organize election-related events in Taiwan, including fabricating polling data and hosting forums to boost Gou’s campaign.
Chang in a statement released after the indictment denied the accusations, saying that he never met with Chinese officials, had no knowledge of China’s preference for the presidency and used reputable polling companies to gather data.
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