《TAIPEI TIMES》 Election interference cases spike: ministry

TREND TO CONTINUE: People should be careful when someone offers a free banquet or tour, as these activities could be part of their vote-buying tactics, an official said

By Chung Li-hua and Jason Pan / Staff reporters

請繼續往下閱讀...

There are 157 people under investigation for alleged election interference in 77 cases, up from 27 suspects in 17 cases two weeks ago, mostly for facilitating propaganda trips to China, the Ministry of Justice said yesterday.

Prosecutors have intensified efforts to investigate contraventions of the Anti-Infiltration Act （反滲透法）, Deputy Minister of Justice Huang Mou-hsin （黃謀信） said after briefing the Cabinet on the matter.

Outside interference mainly came from Chinese sources, as many of the cases under investigation involve junket trips to China in which local elected officials allegedly led people on mostly paid-for tours of Chinese cities, Huang said.

The trips are one of five main ways the Chinese Communist Party （CCP） is meddling in the election, Department of Prosecutorial Affairs Director-General Kuo Yung-fa （郭永發） said.

The other four methods are Taiwanese influencers colluding with CCP officials to spread Chinese propaganda; disseminating disinformation through news firms and social media; polling and public relations companies manipulating survey results; and using artificial intelligence to generate falsified materials to smear certain candidates, Kuo said.

Investigators have reported an escalating trend of these activities in recent weeks and expect more meddling heading into the final two weeks of the election campaign, he said, adding that more indictments are expected nearer to election day on Jan.13.

Premier Chen Chien-jen （陳建仁） also said that outside forces are helping to fund underground gambling rings to entice people to bet on voting outcomes.

“This can influence public opinion and sway voters, thereby changing election outcomes,” Chen said.

Judicial authorities are also bolstering efforts to track money and human networks, and monitor digital information, the ministry said.

“Actions are being taken to cut off suspicious money transfers from foreign sources and respond faster to disinformation, requiring Web site proprietors to remove them,” Kuo said. “We have also enhanced surveillance of people and groups allegedly colluding with outside sources in attempts to undermine our democratic election system.”

He also said people should think carefully when someone offers a free banquet meal or tour, as they could be methods of vote-buying.

People could be prosecuted for accepting these invitations, Kuo said, adding that the ministry also offers rewards of up to NT$20 million （US$651,084） for tips on outside election interference.

Meanwhile, the Nantou District Prosecutors’ Office late on Wednesday indicted a Nantou County Government secretary for allegedly helping China bribe potential voters with travel perks, in the first indictment of a public official over junket trips.

Nantou County Confidential Secretary Lin Meng-li （林孟麗） was accused of breaching the Anti-Infiltration Act and election laws before being released on NT$200,000 bail, the office said.

Lin allegedly invited more than 10 people on a trip from Monday to Saturday last week to Hangzhou in China, which was mostly funded by Zhejiang Province’s Taiwan Affairs Office, it said.

Investigators found evidence suggesting she had acted on the orders of Chinese officials to use the tour as a means to buy votes, the office said, adding that it has questioned the accused and eight other members of the group.

Chinese officials were believed to have paid for the groups’ travel, dining, lodging and admittance fees to local attractions, and interacted with its members during meals, the office said.

Separately, the Central Election Commission （CEC） in a release yesterday said that judicial authorities have launched an investigation into a case of fake election polling and warned people not to spread such information through social media, as it could result in legal punishment.

The CEC said it had received complaints of suspect poll figures with the survey not saying which firm conducted the poll, what its financial sources are, the number of people surveyed, the number of valid responses, the margin of error and other pertinent information.

People found contravening election laws on releasing unauthorized polls could be fined NT$100,000 to NT$1 million, while the fine is higher for political parties, candidates and people working for them, the CEC said.

Additional reporting by Liu Pin-chuan and Lee Wen-hsin

新聞來源：TAIPEI TIMES