Prosecutors today requested the detention of six people accused of using fraudulent signatures on recall petition documents supporting a Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT)-backed campaigns to recall Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmakers in New Taipei City.
The New Taipei District Prosecutors' Office said it launched the investigation after receiving reports of falsified personal information on recall petitions targeting DPP legislators Su Chiao-hui (蘇巧慧), Wu Chi-ming (吳琪銘), Chang Hung-lu (張宏陸) and Lee Kuen-cheng (李坤城).
Photo: Wang Yi-sung, Taipei Times
Prosecutors have filed a motion with a local court to detain the six people and hold them incommunicado on suspicion of criminal forgery and contraventions of the Personal Data Protection Act (個人資料保護法), the office said.
Those named include Hsieh Ching-jen (謝慶認), director of the KMT's Banciao District (板橋) office, Tsai Kan-tzu (蔡甘子), the KMT party secretary for the district, and Lo Ta-yu (羅大宇), executive director of the KMT's Sanchong District (三重) office.
Also facing detention are Ying Ta-hua (應大華), a KMT volunteer, Tan Chen-yao (譚鎮耀), chief petitioner in the recall effort against Su Chiao-hui, and Wang Yu-jen (王昱人), a campaign organizer.
The office also said it questioned 20 people yesterday and conducted coordinated raids at 30 locations, including the suspects' homes, offices and party branches.
Among those brought in for questioning were Hsu Wei-hao (徐偉豪), who led the recall drive against Chang Hung-lu, and Li Ching-hsiang (李清祥), who spearheaded the effort against Wu Chi-ming.
Others included Tsai Cheng-jui (蔡承睿), the designated replacement leader in the recall of u Chiao-hui, and Sung Chien-liang (宋建樑), who led the recall vote petition drive against Lee Kuen-cheng.
The investigation stems from what the office said was an analysis of data obtained from the Central Election Commission and the New Taipei Election Commission that identified irregularities in joint-signature petitions.
Prosecutors said the evidence suggests contraventions of both the Criminal Code and the Personal Data Protection Act.
The searches yesterday happened the same day six activists suspected of similar crimes were released on bail by Taipei prosecutors over KMT-backed campaigns to remove DPP legislators Rosalia Wu (吳思瑤) and Wu Pei-yi (吳沛憶).
Taiwan is witnessing an unprecedented surge in recall vote campaigns, with both DPP and KMT supporters seeking to oust rival lawmakers.
Under Taiwanese election law, a public recall vote is held if campaigners gather signatures from 1 percent of district voters in the first round and 10 percent in the second of the petitioning process.
Eight Chinese naval vessels and 24 military aircraft were detected crossing the median line of the Taiwan Strait between 6am yesterday and 6am today, the Ministry of National Defense said this morning. The aircraft entered Taiwan’s northern, central, southwestern and eastern air defense identification zones, the ministry said. The armed forces responded with mission aircraft, naval vessels and shore-based missile systems to closely monitor the situation, it added. Eight naval vessels, one official ship and 36 aircraft sorties were spotted in total, the ministry said.
INCREASED CAPACITY: The flights on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays would leave Singapore in the morning and Taipei in the afternoon Singapore Airlines is adding four supplementary flights to Taipei per week until May to meet increased tourist and business travel demand, the carrier said on Friday. The addition would raise the number of weekly flights it operates to Taipei to 18, Singapore Airlines Taiwan general manager Timothy Ouyang (歐陽漢源) said. The airline has recorded a steady rise in tourist and business travel to and from Taipei, and aims to provide more flexible travel arrangements for passengers, said Ouyang, who assumed the post in July last year. From now until Saturday next week, four additional flights would depart from Singapore on Monday, Wednesday, Friday
The Ministry of National Defense yesterday reported the return of large-scale Chinese air force activities after their unexplained absence for more than two weeks, which had prompted speculation regarding Beijing’s motives. China usually sends fighter jets, drones and other military aircraft around the nation on a daily basis. Interruptions to such routine are generally caused by bad weather. The Ministry of National Defense said it had detected 26 Chinese military aircraft in the Taiwan Strait over the previous 24 hours. It last reported that many aircraft on Feb. 25, when it spotted 30 aircraft, saying Beijing was carrying out another “joint combat
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) today said that if South Korea does not reply appropriately to its request to correct Taiwan’s name on its e-Arrival card system before March 31, it would take corresponding measures to alter how South Korea is labeled on the online Taiwan Arrival Card system. South Korea’s e-Arrival card system lists Taiwan as “China (Taiwan)” in the “point of departure” and “next destination” fields. The ministry said that it changed the nationality for South Koreans on Taiwan’s Alien Resident Certificates from “Korea” to “South Korea” on March 1, in a gesture of goodwill and based on the
RSS