The Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office today indicted the heads of two hometown associations for accepting funding from infiltrative sources to sway votes in January's presidential and legislative elections.
Taiwan Anhui Association secretary-general Lee An-tai (李安泰) and Taipei Anhui Association chair Sung Kuo-chien (宋國倩) were charged with contravening the Anti-Infiltration Act (依反滲透) and Presidential and Vice Presidential Election and Recall Act (總統副總統選舉罷免法), the office said in a statement.
Lee and Sung allegedly worked with the Anhui Province Taiwan Affairs Office in China to lead 24 community leaders, friends and relatives on a trip to the province, the office said.
Photo: Taipei Times
During their visit, they were asked to support specific candidates in the election, it added.
The trip took place from Oct. 29 to Nov. 16 last year and participants were only required to pay for their roundtrip airfare and first night’s accommodation of NT$16,830, it said.
All other expenses, including meals, transportation and accommodation, totaling around NT$33,000, were covered by the office, the investigation found.
The tour group included Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) officials from Taipei’s Wanhua District (萬華) and other village leaders and community members from the city’s Nangang (南港) and Wanhua districts, the statement said.
Anhui Province Taiwan Affairs Office Exchange and Liaison Director Miao Jian (繆劍) arranged for the group to visit Hefei, Lu’an, Huaibei and other locations, accompanied by officials from the office and China’s United Front Work Department, prosecutors said.
During multiple banquets, Lee, Sung and Miao arranged for officials from the office to deliver speeches promoting “cross-strait family ties,” expressing support for the “one China” policy and opposing Taiwanese independence, they said.
On Oct. 31 last year, Lee expressed to the tour participants that he hopes the KMT could lead cross-strait exchanges next year and calling to support New Taipei City Mayor Hou You-yi (侯友宜) for president for the peaceful development of cross-strait relations, the indictment said.
The office recommended that the court impose harsh penalties on Lee and Sung under Article 7 of the Anti-Infiltration Act.
The 24 people who participated in the trip were not prosecuted due to insufficient evidence that they were aware of any relationship between the travel hospitality and support for a specific candidate, the office said.
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