Immigrants from China and Southeast Asia are not being unduly targeted in investigations of election interference, the Cabinet and the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office said yesterday.
Criticism of the efforts arose after media reported that a Ministry of Justice report at a Cabinet meeting last week listed “new residents” as a priority for monitoring.
“New residents” broadly refers to recent immigrants and naturalized citizens through marriage, with many people associating the term with spouses from China and Southeast Asian countries.
Photo courtesy of the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office
Media reported that the ministry had referred to cases of new residents and their social organizations unlawfully meddling in next weeks presidential and legislative elections, with some Cabinet officials saying that might be viewed as vilification of new residents.
Ministry officials have changed the wording of the report to refer to “local collaborators working through Taiwan-based organizations to develop networks undertaking unlawful actions to meddle in the elections” on Saturday next week, Cabinet spokesman Lin Tze-luen (林子倫) said.
“The report aimed to remind people of the tactics China uses and does not target any specific group,” Lin said.
“Although terms used could be misconstrued and the ministry has made the adjustment ... hopefully people would not read too much into the language and cast aspersions,” he added.
The prosecutors’ office in a news release said that “everyone is equal before the law,” and it is the duty of prosecutors to ensure that the human rights of all groups are protected.
Prosecutors do not target specific groups, it said.
“In seminars and workshops dealing with vote-buying and contraventions of election laws, prosecutors have endorsed the many contributions to society by new residents,” it said. “New residents would also have the same positive viewpoints.”
The office also explained the use of terms in the report such as “black” referring to vilifying candidates by smearing with disinformation, “red” meaning “foreign forces headed by the Chinese government to influence the elections and “gold” referring to money to buy votes and illegal gambling pools betting on election outcomes.
“There was no specific targeting,” it said, adding that the misunderstanding arose from comments by a captain at the National Immigration Agency, who during the Cabinet meeting had spoken on the composition of communities and warned to watch for “new residents and their affiliated organizations” offering enticements for people to travel to China or free banquets.
Additional reporting by Chien Li-chung
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