Staff reporter
The Ministry of Justice said yesterday it was considering whether or not a county commissioner's decision to reward villages that have a high turnout in the March 22 presidential election constitutes vote-buying.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Miaoli County Commissioner Liu Cheng-hung (劉政鴻) recently said that any village that has more than a 75 percent turnout for the presidential vote would be rewarded with a NT$1 million (US$32,600) construction fund.
The KMT has traditionally enjoyed good support in the county.
"Isn't this a form of vote buying?" Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Wong Chin-chu (翁金珠) asked ministry officials during a meeting of the Judiciary Committee at the legislature yesterday.
Wong said Liu may have violated the law or government regulations because he made the offer while also serving as a chief campaigner for KMT presidential candidate Ma Ying-jeou (
Deputy Justice Minister Kuo Lin-yung (郭林勇) said that it was legal for a local official to encourage residents to turn out and vote, but if Liu suggested voting for a certain candidate he would have violated the law.
Kuo said the ministry would investigate Liu's policy and his remarks before deciding whether or not it was legal.
He said a conclusion would be reached within three days.
KMT Legislator Hsieh Kuo-liang (謝國樑) said the ministry should clear the matter up as soon as possible because Taipei County and Taichung County were considering following Miaoli County's lead.
Hsieh said that if Liu were found to have violated the law or election regulations, then Premier Chang Chun-hsiung's (張俊雄) decision that toll stations on freeways should not collect fees on election day should also be investigated.
Chang said that providing toll-free services on freeways on election day would persuade more people to travel home to cast their ballot.
Kuo said Chang's policy was legal because it does not favor either candidate.
National Kaohsiung University of Science and Technology (NKUST) yesterday promised it would increase oversight of use of Chinese in course materials, following a social media outcry over instances of simplified Chinese characters being used, including in a final exam. People on Threads wrote that simplified Chinese characters were used on a final exam and in a textbook for a translation course at the university, while the business card of a professor bore the words: “Taiwan Province, China.” Photographs of the exam, the textbook and the business card were posted with the comments. NKUST said that other members of the faculty did not see
The Taipei City Government yesterday said contractors organizing its New Year’s Eve celebrations would be held responsible after a jumbo screen played a Beijing-ran television channel near the event’s end. An image showing China Central Television (CCTV) Channel 3 being displayed was posted on the social media platform Threads, sparking an outcry on the Internet over Beijing’s alleged political infiltration of the municipal government. A Taipei Department of Information and Tourism spokesman said event workers had made a “grave mistake” and that the Television Broadcasts Satellite (TVBS) group had the contract to operate the screens. The city would apply contractual penalties on TVBS
A new board game set against the backdrop of armed conflict around Taiwan is to be released next month, amid renewed threats from Beijing, inviting players to participate in an imaginary Chinese invasion 20 years from now. China has ramped up military activity close to Taiwan in the past few years, including massing naval forces around the nation. The game, titled 2045, tasks players with navigating the troubles of war using colorful action cards and role-playing as characters involved in operations 10 days before a fictional Chinese invasion of Taiwan. That includes members of the armed forces, Chinese sleeper agents and pro-China politicians
The lowest temperature in a low-lying area recorded early yesterday morning was in Miaoli County’s Gongguan Township (公館), at 6.8°C, due to a strong cold air mass and the effect of radiative cooling, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. In other areas, Chiayi’s East District (東區) recorded a low of 8.2°C and Yunlin County’s Huwei Township (虎尾) recorded 8.5°C, CWA data showed. The cold air mass was at its strongest from Saturday night to the early hours of yesterday. It brought temperatures down to 9°C to 11°C in areas across the nation and the outlying Kinmen and Lienchiang (Matsu) counties,
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