Taipei [Taiwan], May 31 : A Taiwanese woman has been sentenced to four years in prison by the Chiayi District Court for organising China-subsidised group tours aimed at influencing voter behaviour ahead of Taiwan's 2024 presidential election, reported Focus Taiwan.
The woman, identified as Lin Hsueh-feng, was also stripped of her civil rights for three years for violating the Anti-Infiltration Act and the Presidential and Vice Presidential Election and Recall Act, the court announced Thursday.
Prosecutors said Lin, 54, coordinated multiple trips in 2023 to Zhejiang Province, China, involving local village and ward chiefs from Chiayi. The visits were reportedly arranged in collaboration with the Taiwan Affairs Office (TAO) of Taizhou City. Participants were asked to pay NTD 16,000 (USD 536) covering flights and meals, while Chinese authorities fully subsidised accommodation and local travel expenses.
During these visits, Chinese officials encouraged attendees to "vote for a specific political party's candidate" and propagated the narrative that "both sides of the Taiwan Strait are one family." Prosecutors argued that Lin also implied that participants should support a certain candidate in return for the trip.
Although Lin denied the allegations, claiming the tours were part of normal cross-strait exchanges, the court determined that the benefits offered far exceeded normal limits and constituted an attempt to influence voters under foreign direction improperly.
Lin, a former Kuomintang (KMT) candidate who ran unsuccessfully for Chiayi City Council in 2018 and 2022, has the right to appeal the ruling.
The case marks a rare conviction under Taiwan's 2020 Anti-Infiltration Act, reflecting growing concerns in Taipei over Beijing's influence operations targeting Taiwan's democratic processes.
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