The Supreme Prosecutors' Office says that, ahead of the Nov. 28 nine-in-one local elections, it had received 2,302 vote-buying reports involving 2,593 people as of the 19th, about 35.9 percent of all election-related offense reports.
In a front-page story on the 26th, the Taipei Times cited Supreme Prosecutors' Office data showing 2,302 suspected vote-buying cases involving 2,593 people as of Oct. 19, roughly 35.9 percent of 6,415 election-related offense reports. Another 53 cases involving 54 people were received under the Anti-Infiltration Act.
광고 문의 · 300×250Alleged methods include cash, banquets and gift boxes, as well as the use of charities and local groups to hand out benefits. The Ministry of Justice said prosecutors follow election investigation guidelines and would enforce the law objectively and impartially regardless of party or identity, observing due process and protecting human rights.
Cases Under Investigation
The paper reported that a township mayor and her husband in Hualien County are suspected of offering free meals at a birthday banquet, cash gifts during visits and banquets paid for with a charity's funds; they were detained and barred from visitors along with the charity's head. In Taichung, a search on Sept. 21 linked to a city council candidate's intermediary seized more than NT$15.26 million in cash and 69 gift boxes; the intermediary was detained and the candidate released on NT$100,000 bail while prosecutors trace the money.
In Changhua County, the council speaker is accused of using council funds for banquets in a vote-buying scheme, and possible embezzlement of public funds also surfaced; he and his father were detained and the High Court's Taichung branch rejected their appeals. In Kaohsiung's Ciaotou District, a council candidate is suspected of handing out pastry gift boxes at a Mother's Day banquet and of using fishing association resources to help voters obtain fishing qualifications and subsidies with false documents; the Supreme Prosecutors' Office said his father and brother were detained. All are at the investigation stage, and criminal liability will be determined by judicial proceedings.
The whistleblower reward system also drew attention. The office said that from the 2022 local elections to Sept. 21 it had paid out NT$161.44 million in rewards. Prosecutors proposed exempting the rewards from tax but discussions reached no consensus over tax fairness, so they remain taxable. A Ministry of Justice poster advertises rewards of up to NT$20 million.
