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
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