TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Prosecutors searched the KMT’s Yilan office on Thursday and questioned two staffers in a case CNA reported is linked to the recall campaign against DPP Legislator Chen Chun-yu (陳俊宇).
Prosecutors arrived at the office early Thursday and searched it for five hours. They left with a box of documents and called Li Hui-ling (李惠玲), who leads the recall campaign against Chen, and a staffer surnamed Wang (汪) in for questioning.
Prosecutors said they are investigating suspicions of document forgery under the Personal Data Protection Act. They did not confirm if the case was related to the recall campaign.
Chen said in a press release after the search that he respects the right to recall. However, he said forging signatures to support recalls harms democracy and expressed confidence that the judiciary would bring perpetrators to justice for the Yilan people.
KMT Yilan Councilor Huang Cheng-ting (黃琤婷) accused prosecutors of using the judiciary to suppress political dissent and claimed the DPP was behind the search. She worried such searches would intimidate those who support recall campaigns.
The probe comes after Taipei prosecutors searched the KMT’s Taipei office over the weekend and detained two staffers they suspect of forging recall support. The prosecutors’ office said it suspects the KMT’s Taipei branch head was involved.
The KMT plans to protest outside the Presidential Office on Saturday against the investigations into recall campaigners targeting DPP officials. Prosecutors have searched KMT offices or arrested recall campaigners suspected of fraud in greater Taipei, Kaohsiung, and other areas.
The Central Election Commission said last week it reported 41 recall campaigns suspected of using forged or deceased people’s signatures to prosecutors. It said 15 cases targeted opposition or opposition-aligned legislators, 25 targeted DPP or DPP-aligned legislators, and one targeted a TPP mayor.
The mass recall campaign began as a DPP-led initiative in response to dissatisfaction over budget cuts and legal changes passed by KMT and TPP legislators. The KMT followed by encouraging its supporters to recall DPP legislators.
