Taipei Prosecutors Advance to New Taipei Investigation Office to Prevent Structural Election Bribery

(Central News Agency reporter Hsieh Chun-lin, Taipei, 15th) The Taipei District Prosecutors Office (TDPO) announced today that Chief Prosecutor Wang Chun-li visited the Investigation Bureau's New Taipei City Office to hold a consultation meeting on election integrity for local public official elections. Wang urged investigative agencies to establish close horizontal coordination with police and other law enforcement bodies, strengthen intelligence gathering and reporting, and strictly prevent structural vote-buying and electoral bribery.

According to a press release from the TDPO, Chief Prosecutor Wang has been conducting on-site inspections at various election monitoring agencies within his jurisdiction to oversee election preparedness. Following a similar anti-bribery meeting held on the 11th at the Taipei City Investigation Office, Wang today visited the New Taipei City Investigation Office together with Chief Prosecutor Li Chung-jen, the Secretary for Election Integrity Enforcement, and other officials.

The consultation meeting was attended by Hsu Yu-yuan, Director of the New Taipei City Investigation Office, along with department heads responsible for election monitoring, as well as station chiefs from Hsintien, Hsinchuang, Shuangho, Panchiao, and Mobile Stations, to jointly discuss surveillance strategies.

According to the press release, the New Taipei City Investigation Office oversees election monitoring for the TDPO in the following areas: Hsintien, Shenkeng, Wulai, Pinglin, and Shiding Districts of New Taipei City. Analysis of past election cases—including the 2018 and 2022 local elections and the 2020 and 2024 central elections—revealed multiple incidents of vote-buying, ghost voter registrations, and related electoral fraud.

Wang noted that structural vote-buying and ghost voter registration have previously occurred in this region, posing a serious threat, especially in highly competitive elections with low thresholds for winning. He emphasized strategic collaboration with other investigative units to monitor bribery activities and abnormal household registration movements, secure solid evidence through effective investigative methods, and expand investigations along connected leads to eradicate organized electoral fraud.

Wang also highlighted that the upcoming local elections are a 'Nine-in-One' election, featuring multiple concurrent races with intense competition. To prevent collusion among candidates across different races to conduct structural vote-buying, he stressed the need for community-level anti-bribery campaigns to educate the public and prevent inadvertent violations. Additionally, proactive intelligence planning and rapid investigation and prosecution are essential to deter illegal activities. (Edited by Hsiao Po-wen) 1150615