The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) has nominated Taipei City Councilor Wang Jia-jen (王家貞) as a legislative candidate for Tainan’s fifth electoral district, but she is on probation after being convicted of forgery. Under the Public Officials Election and Recall Act (公職人員選舉罷免法) she cannot run as a candidate. Accordingly, the Tainan City Electoral Commission on Friday last week announced that Wang is not eligible.
She responded by accusing the Democratic Progressive Party of acting unconstitutionally and unlawfully by depriving a citizen of their right of political participation. She held a rally on Saturday, calling for people to “get angry” and not vote for “any old candidate.”
KMT Legislator Sandy Yu (游毓蘭) and the Tainan City Council KMT caucus say that Wang’s probation prevents her from running for office due to amendments to the act enacted at the end of May.
The amendments to Article 26 added a number of new conditions for not being able to register as a candidate. The regulations originally only applied to those who had committed sedition or treason, but the amendments added provisions affecting those found guilty of corruption or offenses against the Organized Crime Prevention Act (組織犯罪防制條例), National Security Act (國家安全法), Classified National Security Information Protection Act (國家機密保護法), National Intelligence Work Act (國家情報工作法), Narcotics Hazard Prevention Act (毒品危害防制條例), Controlling Guns, Ammunition and Knives Act (槍砲彈藥刀械管制條例) or Money Laundering Control Act (洗錢防制法).
Is Wang really ineligible under the changes because she was convicted and sentenced to probation for forgery?
In July 2017, the Ministry of the Interior passed draft amendments to the Public Officials Election and Recall Act, which stipulate that those who have been convicted of bribing voters, obstructing their freedom to vote or similar or equivalent offenses, and those who have been sentenced to the death penalty, life in prison or imprisonment of more than 10 years, but whose sentence has not been confirmed, including those who are on probation, cannot register as candidates for public office.
The ministry sent these draft amendments to the Legislative Yuan for deliberation. Having been enacted, the amended clauses came into effect in time for the November 2018 local government elections.
The matter of not being allowed to register as a candidate while on probation is due not to the amendments to the Public Officials Election and Recall Act that were passed at the end of May, but because of the 2017 amendments. The KMT’s fallacious argument of “using a Qing Dynasty sword to behead a Ming Dynasty official” glosses over the party’s inability to review the eligibility of its own nominees and that Wang was convicted of forgery related to her assistants’ expenses.
Nevertheless, Wang and the KMT expect the residents of Tainan to “get angry” and refuse to vote for “any old candidate.” The KMT clearly underestimates the intelligence of voters.
Although Wang cannot stand as a legislative candidate, she can continue to serve as a city councilor, so her right of political participation has not been denied. Furthermore, it is worth asking why KMT Legislator Fu Kun-chi (傅?萁) could be jailed for a year while still in office, while Wang can merrily continue as a city councilor after being convicted of fraud.
Lin Han is a junior-high schoolteacher.
Translated by Julian Clegg
The gutting of Voice of America (VOA) and Radio Free Asia (RFA) by US President Donald Trump’s administration poses a serious threat to the global voice of freedom, particularly for those living under authoritarian regimes such as China. The US — hailed as the model of liberal democracy — has the moral responsibility to uphold the values it champions. In undermining these institutions, the US risks diminishing its “soft power,” a pivotal pillar of its global influence. VOA Tibetan and RFA Tibetan played an enormous role in promoting the strong image of the US in and outside Tibet. On VOA Tibetan,
Sung Chien-liang (宋建樑), the leader of the Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) efforts to recall Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Lee Kun-cheng (李坤城), caused a national outrage and drew diplomatic condemnation on Tuesday after he arrived at the New Taipei City District Prosecutors’ Office dressed in a Nazi uniform. Sung performed a Nazi salute and carried a copy of Adolf Hitler’s Mein Kampf as he arrived to be questioned over allegations of signature forgery in the recall petition. The KMT’s response to the incident has shown a striking lack of contrition and decency. Rather than apologizing and distancing itself from Sung’s actions,
US President Trump weighed into the state of America’s semiconductor manufacturing when he declared, “They [Taiwan] stole it from us. They took it from us, and I don’t blame them. I give them credit.” At a prior White House event President Trump hosted TSMC chairman C.C. Wei (魏哲家), head of the world’s largest and most advanced chip manufacturer, to announce a commitment to invest US$100 billion in America. The president then shifted his previously critical rhetoric on Taiwan and put off tariffs on its chips. Now we learn that the Trump Administration is conducting a “trade investigation” on semiconductors which
By now, most of Taiwan has heard Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an’s (蔣萬安) threats to initiate a vote of no confidence against the Cabinet. His rationale is that the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP)-led government’s investigation into alleged signature forgery in the Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) recall campaign constitutes “political persecution.” I sincerely hope he goes through with it. The opposition currently holds a majority in the Legislative Yuan, so the initiation of a no-confidence motion and its passage should be entirely within reach. If Chiang truly believes that the government is overreaching, abusing its power and targeting political opponents — then
RSS