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.
Taiwan would welcome the return of Honduras as a diplomatic ally if its next president decides to make such a move, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said yesterday. “Of course, we would welcome Honduras if they want to restore diplomatic ties with Taiwan after their elections,” Lin said at a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee, when asked to comment on statements made by two of the three Honduran presidential candidates during the presidential campaign in the Central American country. Taiwan is paying close attention to the region as a whole in the wake of a
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫), spokeswoman Yang Chih-yu (楊智伃) and Legislator Hsieh Lung-chieh (謝龍介) would be summoned by police for questioning for leading an illegal assembly on Thursday evening last week, Minister of the Interior Liu Shyh-fang (劉世芳) said today. The three KMT officials led an assembly outside the Taipei City Prosecutors’ Office, a restricted area where public assembly is not allowed, protesting the questioning of several KMT staff and searches of KMT headquarters and offices in a recall petition forgery case. Chu, Yang and Hsieh are all suspected of contravening the Assembly and Parade Act (集會遊行法) by holding
PRAISE: Japanese visitor Takashi Kubota said the Taiwanese temple architecture images showcased in the AI Art Gallery were the most impressive displays he saw Taiwan does not have an official pavilion at the World Expo in Osaka, Japan, because of its diplomatic predicament, but the government-backed Tech World pavilion is drawing interest with its unique recreations of works by Taiwanese artists. The pavilion features an artificial intelligence (AI)-based art gallery showcasing works of famous Taiwanese artists from the Japanese colonial period using innovative technologies. Among its main simulated displays are Eastern gouache paintings by Chen Chin (陳進), Lin Yu-shan (林玉山) and Kuo Hsueh-hu (郭雪湖), who were the three young Taiwanese painters selected for the East Asian Painting exhibition in 1927. Gouache is a water-based
President William Lai (賴清德) has appointed former vice president Chen Chien-jen (陳建仁) to attend the late Pope Francis’ funeral at the Vatican City on Saturday on his behalf, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said today. The Holy See announced Francis’ funeral would take place on Saturday at 10am in St Peter’s Square. The ministry expressed condolences over Francis’ passing and said that Chen would represent Taiwan at the funeral and offer condolences in person. Taiwan and the Vatican have a long-standing and close diplomatic relationship, the ministry said. Both sides agreed to have Chen represent Taiwan at the funeral, given his Catholic identity and
RSS