Election fraud expert Wang Kun-sheng (王坤盛) on Wednesday revealed a new tactic he says pan-blue camp candidates have recently set in motion to prevent supporters of rival political parties from casting their votes on election day.
In the scheme, which Wang said has been employed in Changhua County and other central regions, voters’ national identification cards are “rented” and are to be withheld until the day after the Jan. 16 presidential and legislative elections.
According to Wang, the candidates are paying NT$10,000 to rent a resident’s identification card, which is required to verify voters’ identities at polling stations — effectively keeping them from casting their ballots.
Wang said that pan-blue camp candidates have, through intermediaries, been arranging for the rental of identification cards belonging to known supporters of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP).
“Some people might give in to this, because NT$10,000 is quite an enticing amount,” Wang said.
Following Wang’s allegations, Changhua County Commissioner Wei Ming-ku (魏明谷) of the DPP on Wednesday met with the Changhua District Prosecutors’ Office and a local district court.
Wei requested prosecutors and judges to bolster their efforts to investigate allegations of vote-buying and other illegal electoral tactics to ensure fair elections.
Acknowledging that such illicit tactics were rife in Changhua in past elections, Wei said: “People have been known to accept money for their votes, persuaded by family or friends, and think that they can get away with it. We urge everyone to say ‘No’ to vote-buying, because that is the only way to stop bribes from influencing election outcomes.”
Several Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) officials including Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) are to be summoned for questioning and then transferred to prosecutors for holding an illegal assembly in Taipei last night, the Taipei Police said today. Chu and two others hosted an illegal assembly and are to be requested to explain their actions, the Taipei City Police Department's Zhongzheng (中正) First Precinct said, referring to a protest held after Huang Lu Chin-ju (黃呂錦茹), KMT Taipei's chapter director, and several other KMT staffers were questioned for alleged signature forgery in recall petitions against Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) legislators. Taipei prosecutors had filed
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
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
NEW WORLD: Taiwan is pursuing innovative approaches to international relations through economics, trade and values-based diplomacy, the foreign minister said Taiwan would implement a “three-chain strategy” that promotes democratic values in response to US tariffs, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said. Taiwan would aim to create a “global democratic value chain,” seek to capitalize on its position within the first island chain and promote a “non-red supply chain,” Lin was quoted as saying in the ministry’s written report to the Legislative Yuan submitted ahead of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee meeting slated for today. The Ministry would also uphold a spirit of mutual beneficial collaboration, maintaining close communication and consultations with Washington to show that Taiwan-US cooperation