Isolated incidents of scuffles and verbal altercations occurred over the weekend as citizen groups and political party officials organized events to either rally support for or oppose recall votes next month targeting 24 Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) lawmakers.
In New Taipei City, police detained a woman after she confronted citizen group volunteers working on the recall campaign in Jhonghe (中和) and Yonghe (永和) districts. The woman allegedly slapped a volunteer on the back.
The woman, reportedly a KMT supporter, was escorted to a police station in Jhonghe to give a statement. She might face assault charges if the volunteer files a formal complaint.
Photo: Chen Yi-shan, Taipei Times
Volunteers from citizen groups, mostly young people, held placards reading: “Defend democracy, support recall vote,” as they stood across from a community center in Jhonghe which hosted a KMT “anti-recall” rally in support of party lawmakers Chang Chih-lun (張智倫) and Lin Te-fu (林德福).
People at the event said that pro-recall workers at the scene received positive nods and thumbs-ups during the KMT event, but also jeers and thumbs-downs from passersby.
Later, the woman in question approached and began arguing before allegedly slapping a female worker on the back. People nearby called the police and restrained the woman to prevent her from fleeing.
Separately, violence, blackmail and intimidation were reported in other constituencies.
In New Taipei City’s Sindian District (新店), gang members allegedly threatened a recall movement leader. Political pundit Lee Cheng-hao (李正皓) was attacked with pepper spray, and Democratic Progressive Party Taipei City Councilor Lin Liang-chun (林亮君) said that she had been blackmailed last week by people claiming to possess nude photos of her, demanding US$50,000 to return the images.
Lin said that the threats and blackmail might be aiming to silence her support for the recall vote.
“With the rise of deepfake technology, people can create forged images that, if not checked closely, could deceive viewers into thinking they are real,” she said.
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