The Legislative Yuan’s Budget Center has called for a review of rules on political donations and how to regulate new modes of donating after it found that less than half of related audits in the past decade resulted in penalties.
Penalties were only imposed in less than half of the cases, especially in cases in which candidates running in elections were involved, the center said in a report released this week.
The Control Yuan is responsible for scrutinizing asset declarations of elected officials and civil servants, as well as auditing political donations for individual candidates and political parties.
Photo: Liu Hsin-de, Taipei Times
For next year’s budget, the Control Yuan has set aside NT$610,000 (US$19,044) to check bank accounts of candidates and parties accepting political donations, review accounting reports and conduct audits of selected cases, the report said.
The Control Yuan has audited about 25 percent of political parties’ declarations, 44 percent of those by presidential and vice presidential candidates, 66 percent of those contesting a legislative seat and 15 percent of local elections, it said.
Its review covered 2014 to last year, totaling 1,548 cases, 718 of which resulted in penalties, or 46.4 percent, while those without penalties were 811, or 52.4 percent.
The highest proportion for those who were not penalized were candidates in elections at 72.4 percent, while the most imposed penalties involved contraventions and illegal conduct relating to donations from foreign sources, donations exceeding the upper limit, submitting accounting reports past the due date, failure to submit an accounting report, accepting unlawful donations and depositing money into a bank account dedicated to political donations past the 15-day deadline.
When it comes to candidates who were not penalized, it is likely due to the Control Yuan not finding fraudulent reporting or accounting discrepancies, center officials said.
However, the lack of personnel for investigations and limited authority to carry out audits, were also another factor, they said, adding that they had to close some cases due to lack of evidence.
Those who contravene the Political Donations Act (政治獻金法) could be fined up to double the amount of the donation accepted and imprisoned.
Under the Act on Property-Declaration by Public Servants (公職人員財產申報法), making false declarations with the intention of concealing assets could be fined up to NT$4 million.
Center officials recommended that the Control Yuan carry out a thorough review on measures and regulations to scrutinize political donations.
They also suggested changes to include new modes of money transfer, to regulate donations during live-streams and the use of cryptocurrency.
The Control Yuan should consider making campaign expenditures reports, enhancing regulations on and scrutiny of political donations and campaign finances, and revise and strengthen related law statutes, the center said.
‘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