A mass recall movement led by citizen groups has turned into judicial battles, as political parties and campaigners trade accusations of forgery and other offenses after names of deceased people were found on the lists of petitioners.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislators Chen Yu-jen (陳玉珍) and Lo Chih-chiang (羅智強) yesterday went to the Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office to file a judicial complaint requesting an investigation into alleged signature violations by a citizen group leading the campaign to recall Taipei KMT Legislator Wang Hung-wei (王鴻薇).
Meanwhile, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Taipei City Councilor Liu Yao-jen (劉耀仁), together with Taiwan Society of Law and Medicine director Lo Chun-hsuan (羅浚晅), yesterday afternoon filed a judicial complaint alleging that KMT-affiliated groups had contravened election laws by copying names from old lists of KMT membership files in the petitions they submitted, many of whom were found to be deceased.
Photo: Wang Yi-sung, Taipei Times
Chen and Lo said that election officials had also found names and “signatures” of deceased people in the petitions submitted by the group calling for Wang’s ouster.
“Taipei prosecutors must investigate these, applying the same treatment that prosecutors have done in Tainan, searching [premises], summoning people for questioning and detaining those suspected of being responsible for the signature violations,” Chen said.
The Tainan District Prosecutors’ Office on Thursday searched the office of a KMT chapter in Tainan and after questioning, detained the chapter’s deputy head, Chuang Chan-kuei (莊占魁), and executive director, Liu Chin-hui (劉金輝).
Chen and Lo said that the duo’s detention was unfair, and alleged that they had been treated too severely because they are KMT officials.
Tainan prosecutors said they had uncovered sufficient evidence that they had falsified some signatures and the duo would face charges of forgery, contravening the Personal Data Protection Act (個人資料保護法), and other election and recall regulations.
Taiwan is stepping up plans to create self-sufficient supply chains for combat drones and increase foreign orders from the US to counter China’s numerical superiority, a defense official said on Saturday. Commenting on condition of anonymity, the official said the nation’s armed forces are in agreement with US Admiral Samuel Paparo’s assessment that Taiwan’s military must be prepared to turn the nation’s waters into a “hellscape” for the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA). Paparo, the commander of the US Indo-Pacific Command, reiterated the concept during a Congressional hearing in Washington on Wednesday. He first coined the term in a security conference last
Prosecutors today declined to say who was questioned regarding alleged forgery on petitions to recall Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) legislators, after Chinese-language media earlier reported that members of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Youth League were brought in for questioning. The Ministry of Justice Investigation Bureau confirmed that two people had been questioned, but did not disclose any further information about the ongoing investigation. KMT Youth League members Lee Hsiao-liang (李孝亮) and Liu Szu-yin (劉思吟) — who are leading the effort to recall DPP caucus chief executive Rosalia Wu (吳思瑤) and Legislator Wu Pei-yi (吳沛憶) — both posted on Facebook saying: “I
Sung Chien-liang (宋建樑), who led efforts to recall Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Lee Kun-cheng (李坤城), was released on bail of NT$80,000 today amid outcry over his decision to wear a Nazi armband to questioning the night before. Sung arrived at the New Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office for questioning in a recall petition forgery case last night wearing a red armband bearing a swastika, carrying a copy of Adolf Hitler’s Mein Kampf and giving a Nazi salute. Sung left the building at 1:15am without the armband and covering the book with his coat. Lee said today that this is a serious
A court has approved Kaohsiung prosecutors’ request that two people working for Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Lin Dai-hua (林岱樺) be detained, as a probe into two cases allegedly involving her continues. The request was made on Friday, after prosecutors raided Lin’s two offices and the staffers’ residences, and questioned five on suspicion of contravening the Anti-Corruption Act (貪汙治罪條例). The people included the directors of Lin’s Daliao (大寮) and Linyuan (林園) district offices in Kaohsiung, surnamed Chou (周) and Lin (林) respectively, as well as three other staffers. The prosecutors’ move came after they interrogated Lin Dai-hua on Wednesday. She appeared solemn following
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