Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) accusations of judicial persecution ring hollow given the large numbers of “dead people” found on their recall signature petitions, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) said yesterday.
The KMT has in the past few days unfairly accused public prosecutors of targeting KMT members, and leveled charges of political interference in the justice system by the ruling party, DPP caucus chief executive Rosalia Wu (吳思瑤) told a news conference at the Legislative Yuan in Taipei.
“Judicial probes into fraud and signature forgery in recall petitions are based on material evidence, not politics. We urge both the KMT and the TPP [Taiwan People’s Party] not to disparage and smear Taiwan’s justice system to further their own party’s interests and draw media attention,” Wu added.
Photo: Liu Hsin-de, Taipei Times
Local election commission officers have found 1,923 instances of “signatures” by deceased people in KMT-led signature campaigns to recall DPP lawmakers, Wu said.
That is more than 160 times higher than the 12 instances found in campaigns led by citizens’ groups to oust KMT legislators, she added.
About 30 percent of the KMT campaigns contain irregularities and errors, including possible fraud and likely forged signatures of dead people, compared with 4 percent by citizens’ groups, Wu said, citing the latest available figures.
DPP Legislator Michelle Lin (林楚茵) said that signatures submitted by all recall campaign groups were verified by city and county election commission officials, who cross-checked them with local household registration offices.
Therefore, the KMT has no ground to stand on when they protest that the party was being unfairly targeted when its members were questioned by prosecutors about the fraudulent signatures, Lin said, adding that two of the most prominent probes involved cases in Taipei and New Taipei City, which are governed by KMT mayors.
“The irregularities and violations clearly show that the campaigns to recall DPP legislators are led by KMT Youth League and party members, in which they merely copied names and personal information from old party membership lists. That contrasts with citizens’ groups and activists not affiliated with political parties who have diligently set up stations outside to ask citizens to join their campaign and sign up in person,” Lin added.
Attorney Huang Di-ying (黃帝穎) said that the “signatures of deceased people” were most likely done by KMT members by copying members’ lists to meet the signature threshold and deadline.
They could be charged with forgery under Article 211 of the Criminal Code, with offenders facing a lengthy sentence, he added.
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