KMT official revises court statement
In a series of investigations, several members and officials affiliated with the Kuomintang (KMT) party in Taiwan have been accused of forging signatures in recall campaigns.
The case traces back to a case involving a Taipei police officer accused of accepting bribes to cover up illegal activity. This led to a wide-ranging investigation that uncovered allegations of mass forgery of thousands of signatures using illegal means.
One of the key figures is Wu Kuo-sheng, KMT Keelung branch chairman, who is accused of ordering the forgery of 1,063 petition signatures targeting Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) city councilors Cheng Wen-ting and Chang Ji-ho.
In Taipei, Huang Lu Chin-ju, former KMT Taipei branch chair, pled guilty to forging more than 90% of about 5,000 petition signatures against two DPP lawmakers. Two other KMT officials also admitted to involvement in forging signatures by using party member lists.
The forgery allegedly involved employing personal data from deceased individuals and misusing government household registration systems to inflate signature counts in various districts, including Renai and Anle in Keelung. The forgery aimed to meet recall campaign thresholds before changes in recall laws took effect.
Prosecutors indicted 31 individuals linked to the KMT for forging thousands of signatures in recall efforts targeting DPP legislators, with 2,566 forgeries alleged in New Taipei alone. Some are still detained, while others have been released on bail under travel and monitoring restrictions.
Notably, Huang Lu reversed her plea to guilty for all charges she faces. The Taipei District Court ordered Huang Lu to wear an ankle bracelet to track her movements. Lai Yi-jen, who organized the campaign targeting one of the Democratic Progressive Party lawmakers, pleaded not guilty.
Investigators searched 17 locations linked to Yeh Lin-chuang and eight others as part of the investigation. Yeh Lin-chuang, Taipei City Council Deputy Speaker, was questioned over corruption allegations and released on NT$5 million bail. He was barred from leaving the country and ordered electronic monitoring of his movements.
Lin Kuan-yu, KMT Culture and Communications Committee head, claimed that Huang Lu's guilty plea was due to the judiciary abusing its power. Rosalia Wu said that Lin's claims need to be backed by evidence.
The KMT's actions were criticized for undermining the professionalism of the judiciary. Lai asked the court to summon four members of the recall campaign who earlier pleaded guilty and 15 volunteers who were given deferred sentences.
Rosalia Wu stated that it was unlikely that the indicted individuals were coerced to plead guilty. Prosecutors accused Yeh Lin-chuang of owning an adults-only gaming arcade and failing to recuse himself during the passage of amendments.
The court declined Lai's request to summon the "anonymous volunteer" who issued an order to copy names from a list of KMT members on petition forms. The 15 volunteers worked on the third floor, while Lai worked on the second floor, according to the court. They were deemed not relevant to the case.
References:
- Taiwan News
- Focus Taiwan
- South China Morning Post
- Reuters
Politics and general-news outlets have been reporting on a wide-ranging investigation in Taiwan, where numerous members and officials affiliated with the Kuomintang (KMT) party have been accused of forging signatures in recall campaigns. In the case of Huang Lu Chin-ju, former KMT Taipei branch chair, she pled guilty to forging more than 90% of about 5,000 petition signatures against two DPP lawmakers. Crime-and-justice news also covers the allegations against Wu Kuo-sheng, KMT Keelung branch chairman, who is accused of ordering the forgery of 1,063 petition signatures. These signatures targeted Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) city councilors Cheng Wen-ting and Chang Ji-ho.
