Citizen groups yesterday demanded that Taipei officials remain neutral, saying the city government was interfering in recall campaigns by refusing to allow campaigners to use public spaces.
Activists working on recall campaigns in Taipei’s Neihu (內湖) and Nangang (南港) districts said that since they began collecting signatures earlier this year, they have been harassed on the streets, and their applications to use schools and parks for events have been denied.
Meanwhile, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Lee Yen-hsiu (李彥秀), who is facing a recall vote, has been able to convene rallies at a junior-high school, which was attended by many KMT officials, they said.
Photo: George Tsorng, Taipei
A spokesman also cited incidents raised by activists in other jurisdictions that allege that cities and counties controlled by the KMT have abused their authority by allowing KMT lawmakers to use street spaces, parks and schools, but denying these to citizen groups.
Activists have requested public prosecutors to launch investigations into the alleged contraventions and into reports that people have found pamphlets urging them to vote “no” in the recalls bundled with the official notice for the July 26 vote.
Under Article 50 of the Public officials Election and Recall Act (公職人員選舉罷免法), “during the periods designated for public official election campaign and recall activities, civil servants in agencies at any level of the central or local government shall not participate in election campaign or recall campaign promotion activities,” the spokesman said.
New Taipei City Councilor Chang Chia-ling (張嘉玲) of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) yesterday also accused the KMT of illegal use of public resources in its fight against the recall vote, saying that she and local residents have seen groups of traffic control officers and firefighters mobilized to attend rallies organized by KMT Legislator Hung Mong-kai (洪孟楷) and other KMT legislators to bolster crowd sizes.
“These are unfair ways to fight against citizen groups, which do not possess such government resources and employees, are an abuse of the public sector and their affiliated groups, and are against election and recall law statutes,” Chang said.
Citizen groups in other KMT-administered cities have requested that prosecutors launch investigations into allegations that neighborhood chiefs and borough wardens in Taoyuan bundled the official notice for the recall vote with pamphlets urging residents to vote “no” in support of KMT Legislator Lu Ming-che (魯明哲).
Groups in Hsinchu City said there were numerous instances when suspended mayor Ann Kao (高虹安) of the Taiwan People’s Party used city-organized public events and venues to call on people to cast “no” votes during the recall vote. Kao is appealing a corruption conviction and is facing a recall vote.
The Agency Against Corruption has already initiated an investigation.
In Yunlin County, citizen groups have accused county Commissioner Chang Li-shan (張麗善) of the KMT of urging people during county-organized events to vote against the recall.
They also accused her of pressing local county representatives to sign statements demanding higher state funding for the county, in effect forcing officials to take a political stance against the DPP government.
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