Prosecutors apply ‘anti-infiltration law’ charges to Taiwan People’s Communist Party chairman
Received illegal election funding from China… Protests were also organized
Ahead of the presidential election in January next year, Taiwanese prosecutors indicted some pro-Beijing politicians for election interference and spreading communist ideology.
According to Radio Free Asia (RFA) on the 4th, Taipei prosecutors indicted Taiwan People’s Communist Party Chairman Lin Dewang and Vice Chairman Zheng Jianxin the previous day on charges of violating the ‘Anti-Infiltration Law’.
Mr. Lin, who was a central committee member of Taiwan’s Kuomintang Party, was expelled from the Kuomintang in 2016 and founded the Taiwan People’s Communist Party the following year and assumed the position of chairman.
Since 2017, he has visited China several times as chairman of the Taiwan People’s Communist Party, and has also invited officials from the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council, China’s overall organization for Taiwan affairs, to Taiwan.
According to the Taipei Prosecutor’s Office, Mr. Lin is known to have maintained a relationship with Hu Chun-guang, deputy director of the Political Party Bureau of the Taiwan Affairs Office, for over 10 years, receiving instructions and making related reports.
Mr. Lin ran for election as a city council member in Tainan City under Chinese instructions in 2018, and is accused of receiving 30,000 Taiwanese dollars (about 1.26 million won) from the Taiwan Affairs Office.
In addition, during the visit of then-US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi to Taiwan in August last year, it was reported that she gathered demonstrators and held 20 protests by giving each person NT$500.
In May last year, COVID-19 rapid diagnostic kits provided by China’s Fujian Province Taiwan Affairs Office were illegally imported and distributed to voters.
The prosecution pointed out that “the Taiwan People’s Communist Party acted as China’s agent and influenced the election,” and “tried to cause damage to Taiwan’s sovereignty and liberal democratic constitutional order.”
Meanwhile, Taiwan’s presidential election will be held on January 13 next year. Kuo Timing, founder of Foxconn, is entering the election as an independent, showing signs of a four-way race. The ruling Democratic Progressive Party’s candidate Lai Ching-de continues to rise, with approval ratings exceeding 40%.
Source: Donga
Mark Jones is a world traveler and journalist for News Rebeat. With a curious mind and a love of adventure, Mark brings a unique perspective to the latest global events and provides in-depth and thought-provoking coverage of the world at large.