Hsinchu City Councilor Fan Cheng-lung (范振龍) of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) was stripped of his office yesterday after being convicted of vote-buying, while in New Taipei City, residents accused KMT candidate Chang Chih-lun (張智倫) of attempted vote-buying by distributing liquor and red envelopes.
Fan in a second trial was handed a three-year, two-month prison term and deprived of his civil rights for four years, and the Supreme Court yesterday in the final decision rejected his appeal of the sentence.
Fan was not among the five candidates to win seats in Hsinchu County’s second electoral district in 2022, but when Chen Te-mu (陳德木) was convicted of vote-buying last year, Fan — who was next in line due to his vote count — replaced him.
Photo: Liao Hsueh-ju, Taipei Times
It is the first time in the history of local elections in Taiwan that members of the same party are ousted from the same public office back-to-back.
During campaigning in 2022, Fan disbursed money to local vote brokers and executives of the Fan family association, instructing them to give it to residents to secure their votes, investigators said.
Fan provided lists of eligible voters, who were to be given NT$1,000 if they were a Fan association member and NT$500 if not, people involved in the scheme told investigators.
Fan and several others admitted to vote-buying activities and were found guilty in February last year of contravening the Public Officials Election and Recall Act (公職人員選舉罷免法).
They were initially handed suspended sentences because they plead guilty.
However, prosecutors appealed, leading to the second ruling, in which Supreme Court judges agreed they had committed a serious offense that undermined the electoral process.
Meanwhile, Democratic Progressive Party legislative candidate Justin Wu (吳崢) said in a briefing that his opponent in New Taipei City’s Jhonghe District (中和), Chang Chih-lun (張智倫), had handed out money and gifts to buy votes.
Wu demanded an investigation.
Videos and items provided by residents prove that Chang attempted to buy votes in activities that have been going on for weeks at neighborhood banquets and campaign events, Wu said.
“We demand that the authorities take action and rule Chang ineligible to run for legislative office due to clear evidence from members of the public showing Chang and his aides presenting bottles of liquor and red envelopes containing NT$3,000 to attendees,” Wu said, adding that Chang also gave checks of tens of thousands of New Taiwan dollars to communty associations.
Chang Chih-lun is the son of Chang Ching-chung (張慶忠), a former KMT legislator who owns several franchise motels nationwide and has been accused of illegal deals to take over public land.
Chang Ching-chung has also drawn criticism for his role in the 2014 attempt to pass the cross-strait service trade agreement with China by conducting a rapid roll call during a legislative session, actions that were part of the buildup to the Sunflower movement.
‘DENIAL DEFENSE’: The US would increase its military presence with uncrewed ships, and submarines, while boosting defense in the Indo-Pacific, a Pete Hegseth memo said The US is reorienting its military strategy to focus primarily on deterring a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan, a memo signed by US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth showed. The memo also called on Taiwan to increase its defense spending. The document, known as the “Interim National Defense Strategic Guidance,” was distributed this month and detailed the national defense plans of US President Donald Trump’s administration, an article in the Washington Post said on Saturday. It outlines how the US can prepare for a potential war with China and defend itself from threats in the “near abroad,” including Greenland and the Panama
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) is maintaining close ties with Beijing, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) said yesterday, hours after a new round of Chinese military drills in the Taiwan Strait began. Political parties in a democracy have a responsibility to be loyal to the nation and defend its sovereignty, DPP spokesman Justin Wu (吳崢) told a news conference in Taipei. His comments came hours after Beijing announced via Chinese state media that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s Eastern Theater Command was holding large-scale drills simulating a multi-pronged attack on Taiwan. Contrary to the KMT’s claims that it is staunchly anti-communist, KMT Deputy
RESPONSE: The government would investigate incidents of Taiwanese entertainers in China promoting CCP propaganda online in contravention of the law, the source said Taiwanese entertainers living in China who are found to have contravened cross-strait regulations or collaborated with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) could be subject to fines, a source said on Sunday. Several Taiwanese entertainers have posted on the social media platform Sina Weibo saying that Taiwan “must be returned” to China, and sharing news articles from Chinese state media. In response, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) has asked the Ministry of Culture to investigate whether the entertainers had contravened any laws, and asked for them to be questioned upon their return to Taiwan, an official familiar with the matter said. To curb repeated
Myanmar has turned down an offer of assistance from Taiwanese search-and-rescue teams after a magnitude 7.7 earthquake struck the nation on Friday last week, saying other international aid is sufficient, the National Fire Agency said yesterday. More than 1,700 have been killed and 3,400 injured in the quake that struck near the central Myanmar city of Mandalay early on Friday afternoon, followed minutes later by a magnitude 6.7 aftershock. Worldwide, 13 international search-and-rescue teams have been deployed, with another 13 teams mobilizing, the agency said. Taiwan’s search-and-rescue teams were on standby, but have since been told to stand down, as
RSS