VZCZCXRO0008
PP RUEHCN
DE RUEHIN #0705/01 0660108
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 070108Z MAR 06
FM AIT TAIPEI
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 8889
INFO RUEHBJ/AMEMBASSY BEIJING 4803
RUESLE/AMCONSUL SHANGHAI 8449
RUEHCN/AMCONSUL CHENGDU 1084
RUEHSH/AMCONSUL SHENYANG 5033
RUEHGZ/AMCONSUL GUANGZHOU 9055
RUEHHK/AMCONSUL HONG KONG 6001

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 04 TAIPEI 000705 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT PASS AIT/WASHINGTON 
DEPT FOR EAP/TC, INR/EAP 
 
FROM AIT KAOHSIUNG BRANCH OFFICE 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PREL TW
SUBJECT:  Southern Taiwan Confirmed Epidemic -- Vote-buying 
in "3 in 1 Elections" 
 
Ref:  A.  TAIPEI 4235   B.  TAIPEI 4355   C.  Taipei 4559 
 
¶D.  TAIPEI 0656 
 
SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED.  PLEASE PROTECT ACCORDINGLY. 
 
¶1. (SBU) Summary. At the conclusion of the 3-in-1 elections 
on December 3, 2005, prosecutors in southern Taiwan found 
themselves overwhelmed with clean-up of vote-buying 
complaints.  Blossoming creative methods and variations on 
the practice of vote-buying do little to help practitioners 
avoid the reach of the law.  Indictments against victorious 
candidates have brought into question the legitimacy of 
winning ballots as well as the future of current elected 
officials in office. End summary. 
 
Over Half of Newly Elected Officials Indicted 
--------------------------------------------- 
 
¶2.  (SBU) At the conclusion of the 3-in-1 elections on 
December 3, 2005, prosecutors in southern Taiwan found 
themselves buried in the aftermath of thousands of vote- 
buying complaints (reftels A and C). On December 5, the 
Ministry of Justice ordered local prosecutors' offices take 
immediate prosecutorial action against any candidates 
winning election while under indictment for or suspicion of 
vote-buying.  According to election law, prosecutors must 
act to invalidate the status of newly elected officials 
within fifteen days after the names of the newly elected are 
officially announced.  A China Times press report on 
December 6 provided data on the newly elected officials who 
are either under indictment or detention.  According to the 
statistics, 54 of the 108 candidates that have been indicted 
or detained for vote-buying won their races.  With over half 
vote-buying suspects now elected to office, frustrated 
prosecutors have vowed to bring them to justice. 
 
¶3.  (SBU) The same press report indicated that in Tainan 
County, five of the six indictees and three of the four 
detainees won the election.  In Tainan City, three of the 
six indictees were elected.  In Chiayi City, all of the six 
indictees won the election.  In Kaohsiung County, the only 
one indictee, who is also the incumbent deputy speaker, was 
reelected.  Chief Prosecutor-General Wu Ying-chao pointed 
out that Taiwan's voters are too sentimental to resist soft 
and heart-touching campaign strategies used by those 
candidates who label themselves as victims of political and 
prosecutorial persecution.  Wu noted that the prosecution 
authorities should put more emphasis in correcting this 
pattern of voting. 
 
Method Cannot Hide Intent 
------------------------- 
 
¶4.  (SBU) According to prosecutors, traditional vote-buying 
methods (e.g., hosting meals and giving gifts) still could 
guarantee a certain number of votes for a candidate in this 
3-in-one election.  In Tainan County, prosecutors are 
investigating vote-buying complaints against Tainan County's 
DPP Chapter, which was alleged to have hosted barbeques for 
one thousand local residents at Hutoupi Reservoir Park in an 
attempt to rally support for incumbent DPP Magistrate Su 
Huan-chi's reelection bid.  Prosecutors also started 
investigating all campaign-related activities organized by 
Tainan County DPP Chapter during the election, which 
included eight large barbeque parties.  Tainan County 
Magistrate Su and other DPP candidates attending the 
barbeque party were deposed as witnesses by prosecutors 
before the election. 
 
¶5.  (SBU) Another scheme of vote-buying used in this 3-in-1 
election involves moving a voter's domicile to a remote 
constituency six months before the election to ensure the 
voter's eligibility to cast a ballot for a certain 
candidate.  This vote-buying form has been construed as vote- 
rigging.   Prosecutors believe this vote-rigging definitely 
influences election outcomes.  In Kaohsiung County, through 
monitoring the new household registration cases over the 
last six months, prosecutors discovered one abnormal case 
involving one hundred people moving to one single domicile 
 
TAIPEI 00000705  002 OF 004 
 
 
at the same time. Taitung County Council Deputy Speaker Lin 
Hui-chiu and her secretary have been held incommunicado 
since December 4 for vote-rigging.  Lin was alleged to have 
instructed her secretary to arrange to start moving voters' 
domiciles in May 2005.  Lin was also alleged to have bought 
votes at a price between NT$1,000 and NT$2,000 each. 
 
¶6.  (SBU) Vote-buying schemes in this election also included 
payoffs for bets on particular candidates by working in 
conjunction with local bookmakers to subsidize payouts to 
voters who bet on a party's candidate in the event the 
candidate wins the election.  Many of these bookmakers are 
linked with other illegal gambling operations.  A press 
report in the China Times on November 30 indicated that 
local bookies were taking bets on election outcomes 
throughout the island.  In Chiayi City, the odds were 
reported at 1 to 2 for bets that any KMT candidate wins by 
at least 2,500 votes.  In Tainan County, the odds were 1 to 
2 for bets that any DPP candidate wins by 50,000 votes. In 
Tainan City, the odds were 1 to 2 for bets that a DPP 
candidate wins by 20,000 votes. 
 
Keeping a Close Watch on "Walking Money" and Tell-tale Bank 
Activity 
--------------------------------------------- ------- 
 
¶7.  (SBU) In order to provide candidates with "plausible 
deniability" most vote-buying schemes were performed by 
supportive local campaign chiefs carrying "walking money" 
(up to NT$500,000) to distribute in any way the chief deemed 
most effective.  This may include direct cash payments, 
hosting dinners, and giving presents.  The most 
controversial case involving "walking money" in this 3-in-1 
election occurred to DPP Taipei County magisterial candidate 
Lo Wen-chia.  On November 30, KMT candidate Chou Hsi-wei 
publicized a videotape taken by the camera on the bus that 
transported DPP supporters to Lo's election rally at the 
riverside park in mid-November. The videotape showed that a 
campaign aide distributed "walking money" to each supporter 
on the bus.  These allegations of "walking money" are 
interpreted widely as a key factor in Lo's loss.  Some 
Southern political commentators sarcastically noted that the 
DPP needs more practices to compete with the KMT, which has 
long history and extensive experience in using the "walking 
money" strategy in previous elections. 
 
¶8.  (SBU) Aside from meals and gifts, direct cash payments 
to more rural, less educated voters usually occur during the 
final five day campaign push.  Prosecutors indicted more 
than a dozen persons for this form of vote-buying in 
southern Taiwan, where votes were bought for amounts ranging 
from NT$500 to NT$2,000 each.  For instance, a local 
resident told AIT/K that in the aboriginal township mayoral 
election in Sandimen Township, Pingtung County, the 
candidate who paid NT$2,000 per vote beat the other 
candidate that paid NT$1,000 each.  In Penghu County, 
prosecutors reportedly indicted three vote-buying suspects 
and requested jail terms of one year and six months for the 
vote-buyer and eight months for the two vote-sellers who 
sold their votes for NT$500 each.  In Taitung County, 
prosecutors discovered NT$800,000 cash from the KMT's 
Taitung Chapter and alleged that the Chapter had bought 
votes for independent magisterial candidate Wu Chun-li 
through KMT campaign wardens at a price of NT$1,000 each. 
Wu was interviewed and released on NT$1 million bail whereas 
the chapter chairman was dismissed by KMT Chairman Ma Ying- 
jeou for alleged vote-buying during the election.  The 
temporary chapter chairman assured AIT/K that, although 
there is evidence of this unfortunate activity, it was a 
complete anomaly. 
 
¶9.  (SBU) In addition to raiding candidates' campaign 
offices for vote-buying evidence, which includes cash, 
voter's name lists and gifts, prosecutors also watch closely 
for any abnormal transactions between candidates' bank 
accounts and those of campaign wardens.  As each vote-buying 
scheme would cost candidates a fortune, the elections in 
Taiwan are often seen by some academics and political 
observers as a means of wealth redistribution among major 
 
TAIPEI 00000705  003 OF 004 
 
 
players (the wealthy candidates and the poor voters) in the 
election. 
 
Prosecutors Work against Overwhelming Odds 
------------------------------------------ 
 
¶10.  (SBU) Academics, politicians, party operatives and people in 
general do not believe the vast majority of investigations 
or indictments for vote buying will lead to jail time. 
Documentary evidence is hard to come by in most cases. 
However, some high profile cases have emerged that offer 
hope prosecutors can bring convictions.  Pingtung 
prosecutors indicted independent Legislator Tsai Hao and his 
wife Soong Li-hua (reftel B) for vote-buying and requested 
jail terms of six years and three years for Tsai and Soong 
respectively.  The 73-page indictment charged that Tsai and 
Soong committed vote-buying by offering raffle prizes, 
ranging from refrigerators, washing machines, TV sets and 
bicycles, for the parties organized by their campaign 
wardens in an attempt to rally support for Soong's election 
bid for Pingtung Magistrate.  The Ministry of Justice 
Investigation Bureau (MJIB) agent, alleged to have accepted 
a bribe and leaked information to Tsai Hao prior to a 
prosecutorial search of Soong's campaign offices, was also 
indicated and prosecutors are seeking a jail term of ten 
years and six months. 
 
¶11.  (SBU) As of March 2, 2006, in southern Taiwan the 
running tally of formal investigations and judicial 
indictments emerging from the 3-in-1 elections stands as 
follows: 
 
-- Pingtung prosecutors are continuing their formal 
investigation into 103 vote-buying complaints.  Indictments 
have been brought in 39 cases against 108 persons, which 
include four elected County council members and one township 
mayor.  Pingtung prosecutors have formally filed with the 
courts a motion to invalidate the elections of the five 
elected indictees. 
 
-- Kaohsiung prosecutors are conducting formal 
investigations into 91 vote-buying complaints involving 292 
persons.  Indictments have been brought in 37 cases against 
182 persons.  The newly elected Deputy Speaker of Kaohsiung 
County Council, one elected County Council member, and one 
elected township mayor are among those indictees.  Kaohsiung 
prosecutors have formally filed with the courts a motion to 
invalidate the elections of the three elected indictees. 
 
-- Tainan prosecutors have conducted formal investigations 
into 100 vote-buying complaints.  The remaining 418 
complaints are under informal investigation by the county 
police. Indictments have been made against 11 candidates and 
62 campaign wardens.  Six of the eleven candidates won their 
races.  The incumbent Deputy Speaker of Tainan County 
Council, who won her re-election, was among the indictees. 
(Note: According to Deputy Prosecutor General, Jennifer Kuo, 
her office has stopped counting the ever-escalating figures 
on the vote-buying cases related to the 3-in-1 elections. 
The figures mentioned above were counted and released as of 
December 16, 2005.) 
 
-- Penghu prosecutors conducted formal investigations into 
348 vote-buying complaints, of which 20 remain under 
investigation and 318 were dismissed for lack of evidence. 
Indictments have been brought in 10 cases against 106 
persons.  One indictment was made against a total of 61 
persons including one elected county council member, one 
township mayor, and 59 campaign wardens.  This case has set 
a record in Penghu's history for the largest number of 
people ever indicted after a single election.  One incumbent 
county council member, who fled to China to avoid 
prosecutorial investigation on vote-buying allegations, 
returned to Penghu after winning his reelection bid.  At the 
time, his return was associated with a Council Speaker 
election, in which interested candidates reportedly were 
offering NT$7 million for each vote. 
 
-- Taitung prosecutors have conducted formal investigations 
 
TAIPEI 00000705  004 OF 004 
 
 
into 72 vote-buying complaints.  Indictments have been 
brought in 34 cases against 108 persons, including one newly 
elected township mayor and two elected county council 
members.  (Note:  AIT/K has failed to reach the responsible 
prosecutor in its effort to update these figures.  The 
abovementioned figures were counted and released as of 
December 16, 2005).  The China Times December 23rd edition 
reported the formal indictment brought on December 22, by 
Taitung prosecutors against newly elected (and immediately 
removed from office - reftel D) Magistrate Wu Chun-li for 
vote-buying during the campaign by direct cash payment 
through neighborhood chiefs and others.  Another seventy-two 
campaign wardens and voters were also indicted in cases 
related to the magisterial election. 
 
-- Chiayi prosecutors conducted formal investigations into 
more than 100 vote-buying complaints.  Informal 
investigations were made into 233 cases by the county 
police. Indictments have been brought in 84 cases against 86 
persons.  Among those indictees, one was elected as a county 
council member and one as a township mayor. 
 
Comment: Fading Practice, but did it work? 
------------------------------------------- 
 
¶12. (SBU) Academics, politicians and political observers in 
southern Taiwan regularly excuse vote-buying activity as 
part of this active "developmental democracy," claiming that 
such activity certainly will disappear in time as voters 
become better educated and more accustomed to the process of 
voting and its ensuing responsibilities.  However, that 
argument likely will hold very little weight if recently 
elected officials and others indicted for vote buying try to 
"tell it to the judge." 
 
¶13.  (SBU) While most political observers questioned the 
effectiveness of most of the vote-buying measures, given the 
enormously high price related to either successfully or 
unsuccessfully purchasing votes, DPP politicians contend 
that vote-buying techniques employed by KMT candidates in 
the 3-in-1 election was the major factor leading to DPP 
defeat.  They contend that the 3-in-1 election offered the 
KMT an opportunity to design a vote-buying package to cover 
all KMT candidates in the same constituency and hence boost 
the chances of winning for KMT magisterial and mayoral 
candidates. 
 
¶14. (SBU) While it is hard to prove or disprove the DPP 
argument, it must be noted that two other arguments appear 
more persuasive. First, the 3-in-1 election clearly helped 
the KMT, simply because their well-entrenched local 
organizations were better able to organize, whether or not 
they engaged in vote buying. Second, the series of visible 
DPP corruption cases, particularly the fallout from the Thai 
labor disturbances in Kaohsiung, enabled the KMT to argue 
credibly that the DPP had been corrupted by President Chen's 
tenure in office. 
 
End Comment. 
 
THIELE 
 
KEEGAN