Prosecutors Investigating Election-Related Cases|疑中港澳資金介入選舉 檢調追查5案

The 2020 presidential and legislative elections are about one month away. Statistics compiled by the Supreme Prosecutors' Office show that 378 election-related cases have been investigated as of the end of November, including five cases related to funding from China, Hong Kong, and Macau with the aim of influencing the elections. Meanwhile, candidates are stepping up their promotional campaigns as the election draws closer, and there are concerns about vote buying.


The truck is piled high with multi-purpose plastic boxes, which Kuomintang legislative candidate Tsai Yu-hui was preparing to hand out as a promotional item during an information session on Dec. 6. This plan was thwarted by Democratic Progressive Party legislative candidate Lai Hui-yuan. Lai also accused Tsai of buying votes. The police then got involved, seizing the evidence and sending it to prosecutors. In response, Tsai said there was no vote buying. As such, he plans to sue.

There are so many of these promotional items. Added together, they definitely surpass NT$30 by far. If this is not vote buying, then what is?

The cost was NT$15, only NT$15. It's definitely not as they claimed, that it was a promotional item that exceeded NT$30. I believe Lai Hui-yuan is smearing me.

About one month's time remains before the 2020 elections, and candidates are stepping up their canvassing efforts. Many of them hand out promotional items to boost their candidacies. Meanwhile, numerous posts have recently appeared online saying that free chicken cutlets will be handed out if a certain candidate wins, resulting in concerns about vote buying. Many candidates are also handing out items whose value exceeds NT$30, and people wonder if the Ministry of Justice is being lenient on this matter.

The value is only a standard for reference. What's important is whether there is any bribery between candidates and voters.

The ministry says what constitutes vote buying has to be determined on a case by case basis to see if there is any quid pro quo. It added it won't spend any time determining if the value of one certain item is under or over NT$30. A lawyer who previously worked as a prosecutor says investigations will focus on whether these promotional gifts affect the people's desire to vote to determine if there is any vote buying.

It doesn't mean that there is automatically vote buying if the value is over NT$30. What's important is who the recipients are. If you hand out the NT$30 items to people who don't have the right to vote or those outside your constituency, then clearly this is no quid pro quo.

In related news, statistics compiled by the Supreme Prosecutors' Office show that 378 election-related cases with 586 defendants have been investigated by district prosecutors' offices as of the end of November, including six cases of outside funding with the aim of influencing the elections. In five of the cases, the source was China, Hong Kong, or Macau. They remain under investigation.



發財車上裝滿一袋袋的萬用塑膠盒，是國民黨立委參選人蔡育輝的競選小物，6號準備送往問政說明會，遭到民進黨立委參選人賴惠員攔阻，指控他涉嫌賄選，警方已將證物扣押送往檢調，對此，蔡育輝駁斥有涉及賄選，並決定提告。

民進黨立委參選人 賴惠員 (108.12.6)表示：「這麼多的一個文宣品，加起來遠遠超過30元，如果這個不是賄選什麼才叫賄選？」

國民黨立委參選人 蔡育輝 (108.12.6)表示：「成本15元而已，15元，絕對不是像他們說的，超過30元的文宣品，我是覺得賴惠員抹黑。」

2020大選進入最後倒數，各政黨掃街、造勢，也常會發送文宣品，而近期，網路更出現多篇，寫著如果誰當選，就送雞排的「雞排祭品文」，為選戰增加可看性，卻也引發是否算賄選的質疑，也有不少候選人送禮超過30元，讓外界質疑法務部是否從寬認定，放寬30元以下的賄選門檻。

桃園地方檢察署主任檢察官 高一書表示：「金額它只是一個參考的標準，候選人跟選民之間，他們是不是有行收賄的這個意思。」

法務部強調，如何才算接受賄選，還是得看個案，審酌有無對價關係，也不會單看物品是不是在「 30元上下」，曾擔任檢察官的律師郭力菁也表示，檢調會針對競選小物是否影響選民的投票意願，作為判斷是否賄選。

律師 郭力菁表示：「並不是說一定超過30元，就會構成賄選，你送的對象是誰，也很重要。如果你30元送的，都是沒有投票權的人，或者是根本不是在你這個投票區域選區內的選舉人，那很明顯就不會構成有對價關係。」

距離2020總統大選剩下一個多月，全台檢調積極查賄，最高檢察署統計，目前全國各地檢署受理的選舉案件總計378件、被告586人。值得注意有6件境外資金介入，大陸及港澳資金介入占最大宗，高達5件，會不會是有心人士干預選舉，檢調積極偵辦中。