The Ministry of Justice Investigation Bureau yesterday said that people reporting foreign attempts to intervene in local elections or vote betting could receive a reward of up to NT$20 million (US$626,213).
As fair elections are the cornerstone of democracy and clean governance, people should inform the authorities if they receive information about or are aware of groups that seek to undermine the fairness of elections, the bureau said.
Foreign intervention and election betting pools have been rampant over the past few years, greatly affecting results, which is why changes have been made to the Key Points on Anti-bribery Tips (鼓勵檢舉賄選要點) to offer rewards for information, it said.
Photo: Wu Cheng-feng, Taipei Times
The bureau said that it would incorporate other changes to broaden efforts to investigate and apprehend those involved in acts that would harm elections.
The regulations’ name would also be changed to the Key Points on Detrimental Acts to Elections (鼓勵檢舉妨害選舉要點), it said.
Organizations that have been fostered by foreign powers to intervene in Taiwan’s elections or that have received funding for such purposes are usually difficult to uncover, it said.
The bureau said it is offering a large sum for tips about such organizations as their actions undermine the fairness of elections and affect national security and social stability.
A person would receive one-quarter of the cash reward if their tip results in individuals being indicted for contravening the Civil Servants Election and Recall Act (公職人員選舉罷免法) or other election-related laws, the amendment states.
If someone accused of bribery is found guilty in the first ruling, the informant would receive the second quarter of the reward. They would receive the full NT$20 million after the final ruling.
Election betting pools could affect the outcome of the elections, as people could be tempted to sway others in how they vote, and are as detrimental to elections as bribery, the bureau said.
Depending on the size of the betting ring involved, an informant could receive a reward of as much as NT$5 million, the bureau said.
‘CHARM OFFENSIVE’: Beijing has been sending senior Chinese officials to Okinawa as part of efforts to influence public opinion against the US, the ‘Telegraph’ reported Beijing is believed to be sowing divisions in Japan’s Okinawa Prefecture to better facilitate an invasion of Taiwan, British newspaper the Telegraph reported on Saturday. Less than 750km from Taiwan, Okinawa hosts nearly 30,000 US troops who would likely “play a pivotal role should Beijing order the invasion of Taiwan,” it wrote. To prevent US intervention in an invasion, China is carrying out a “silent invasion” of Okinawa by stoking the flames of discontent among locals toward the US presence in the prefecture, it said. Beijing is also allegedly funding separatists in the region, including Chosuke Yara, the head of the Ryukyu Independence
UNITED: The premier said Trump’s tariff comments provided a great opportunity for the private and public sectors to come together to maintain the nation’s chip advantage The government is considering ways to assist the nation’s semiconductor industry or hosting collaborative projects with the private sector after US President Donald Trump threatened to impose a 100 percent tariff on chips exported to the US, Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) said yesterday. Trump on Monday told Republican members of the US Congress about plans to impose sweeping tariffs on semiconductors, steel, aluminum, copper and pharmaceuticals “in the very near future.” “It’s time for the United States to return to the system that made us richer and more powerful than ever before,” Trump said at the Republican Issues Conference in Miami, Florida. “They
GOLDEN OPPORTUNITY: Taiwan must capitalize on the shock waves DeepSeek has sent through US markets to show it is a tech partner of Washington, a researcher said China’s reported breakthrough in artificial intelligence (AI) would prompt the US to seek a stronger alliance with Taiwan and Japan to secure its technological superiority, a Taiwanese researcher said yesterday. The launch of low-cost AI model DeepSeek (深度求索) on Monday sent US tech stocks tumbling, with chipmaker Nvidia Corp losing 16 percent of its value and the NASDAQ falling 612.46 points, or 3.07 percent, to close at 19,341.84 points. On the same day, the Philadelphia Stock Exchange Semiconductor Sector index dropped 488.7 points, or 9.15 percent, to close at 4,853.24 points. The launch of the Chinese chatbot proves that a competitor can
‘VERY SHALLOW’: The center of Saturday’s quake in Tainan’s Dongshan District hit at a depth of 7.7km, while yesterday’s in Nansai was at a depth of 8.1km, the CWA said Two magnitude 5.7 earthquakes that struck on Saturday night and yesterday morning were aftershocks triggered by a magnitude 6.4 quake on Tuesday last week, a seismologist said, adding that the epicenters of the aftershocks are moving westward. Saturday and yesterday’s earthquakes occurred as people were preparing for the Lunar New Year holiday this week. As of 10am yesterday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) recorded 110 aftershocks from last week’s main earthquake, including six magnitude 5 to 6 quakes and 32 magnitude 4 to 5 tremors. Seventy-one of the earthquakes were smaller than magnitude 4. Thirty-one of the aftershocks were felt nationwide, while 79
RSS