Southern Taiwan’s Tainan City Council speaker and deputy speaker have been charged with vote-buying in the race for the council’s leadership positions. Taiwan’s top corruption official Chiu Chun-yen (邱駿彥) on Thursday said the cases were having a large negative effect on society.
In late December Council Speaker Chiu Li-li (邱莉莉) and Deputy Speaker Lin Chih-chan (林志展) were elected to their leadership positions with votes from opposition councilors, sparking suspicion. Both politicians are members of the ruling DPP.
Chiu says Taiwan’s corruption watchdog is already collecting information on Speaker Chiu and Deputy Speaker Lin. Prosecutors have questioned 11 people involved in the cases. Chiu says anti-corruption officials will meet on January 18 to discuss the cases.
DPP Ethic Committee head Lai Jui-long (賴瑞隆) says the party’s founding values are integrity, diligence, and love for one’s country. He says if evidence of illegal activities is found, the party will also discipline the suspects. Lai adds the DPP will respect the results of the watchdog’s investigations.
The vote-buying cases come after Taiwan’s ruling party suffered historic losses in last year’s elections. A post-election report identified allegations of the party’s ties to organized crime as a reason for its poor performance.