The leader of efforts to recall Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Wang Mei-hui (王美惠) yesterday said they would stop collecting signatures for the second stage of the recall drive following allegation of forgeries.
A 65-year-old surnamed Cheng (鄭) and her lawyer yesterday alleged that the leader of the recall drive, surnamed Chen (陳), had falsified Cheng’s signature.
Cheng said she received a notice of confirmation from the Central Election Commission’s (CEC) Chiayi branch that she had signed the petition, alhough she had not.
Photo: CNA
She added that she suspected her personal information had been leaked.
In response, Chen yesterday said that he only received the returned petition forms collected by “eager members of the public” and could not verify them, adding that was why he submitted hundreds more petitions than required in the first stage of the recall process so that the CEC could verify the signatures.
Falsifying people’s signatures was never an idea that crossed his mind, and he is equally annoyed, he said.
“This [fake signature] has crossed my personal red line,” he said.
After the CEC announces the result of the current phase of the recall on Tuesday next week, Chen said he would hold a separate news conference to announce that he does not intend to continue collecting signatures for the second stage.
The Public Officials Election and Recall Act (公職人員選舉罷免法) states that recalls have to undergo two stages, the first being the proposal, which requires 1 percent of voters in the electorate the official represents to sign the petition. In the second petition stage, signatures from 10 percent of voters in the electorate must be collected before a recall vote is held.
The act states that the recall vote must receive approval from one-quarter of the electorate.
Wang, who represents a constituency in Chiayi City, yesterday said that multiple incidents of forged signatures — including one reported last month of a signature belonging to a person who had passed away — showed that allegations of people copying names off existing lists, such as membership lists at party branches, held some truth, adding that she hoped all such illegal acts would be punished.
STILL COMMITTED: The US opposes any forced change to the ‘status quo’ in the Strait, but also does not seek conflict, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said US President Donald Trump’s administration released US$5.3 billion in previously frozen foreign aid, including US$870 million in security exemptions for programs in Taiwan, a list of exemptions reviewed by Reuters showed. Trump ordered a 90-day pause on foreign aid shortly after taking office on Jan. 20, halting funding for everything from programs that fight starvation and deadly diseases to providing shelters for millions of displaced people across the globe. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who has said that all foreign assistance must align with Trump’s “America First” priorities, issued waivers late last month on military aid to Israel and Egypt, the
‘UNITED FRONT’ FRONTS: Barring contact with Huaqiao and Jinan universities is needed to stop China targeting Taiwanese students, the education minister said Taiwan has blacklisted two Chinese universities from conducting academic exchange programs in the nation after reports that the institutes are arms of Beijing’s United Front Work Department, Minister of Education Cheng Ying-yao (鄭英耀) said in an exclusive interview with the Chinese-language Liberty Times (the Taipei Times’ sister paper) published yesterday. China’s Huaqiao University in Xiamen and Quanzhou, as well as Jinan University in Guangzhou, which have 600 and 1,500 Taiwanese on their rolls respectively, are under direct control of the Chinese government’s political warfare branch, Cheng said, citing reports by national security officials. A comprehensive ban on Taiwanese institutions collaborating or
France’s nuclear-powered aircraft carrier and accompanying warships were in the Philippines yesterday after holding combat drills with Philippine forces in the disputed South China Sea in a show of firepower that would likely antagonize China. The Charles de Gaulle on Friday docked at Subic Bay, a former US naval base northwest of Manila, for a break after more than two months of deployment in the Indo-Pacific region. The French carrier engaged with security allies for contingency readiness and to promote regional security, including with Philippine forces, navy ships and fighter jets. They held anti-submarine warfare drills and aerial combat training on Friday in
COMBAT READINESS: The military is reviewing weaponry, personnel resources, and mobilization and recovery forces to adjust defense strategies, the defense minister said The military has released a photograph of Minister of National Defense Wellington Koo (顧立雄) appearing to sit beside a US general during the annual Han Kuang military exercises on Friday last week in a historic first. In the photo, Koo, who was presiding over the drills with high-level officers, appears to be sitting next to US Marine Corps Major General Jay Bargeron, the director of strategic planning and policy of the US Indo-Pacific Command, although only Bargeron’s name tag is visible in the seat as “J5 Maj General.” It is the first time the military has released a photo of an active
RSS