A man who ran unsuccessfully for ward chief in New Taipei last year was indicted on Saturday for contravening the Anti-Infiltration Act and other laws for accepting COVID-19 antigen rapid testing kits from a Chinese government agency in Fujian Province which he distributed among constituents.
According to the indictment issued by the New Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office, the man, surnamed Lu (?), is being prosecuted for infractions of the Civil Servants Election and Recall Act, Medical Devices Act, and Anti-Infiltration Act after having accepted donations from an “infiltration source,” imported medical equipment without permission, and used it to bribe constituents.
Last year, Lu contacted the Pingtan Comprehensive Experimental Zone’s Taiwan Affairs Office to request COVID-19 antigen rapid testing kits to distribute to voters in Shoude Ward in New Taipei’s Zhonghe District and RMB$50,000 (US$7,238.2) to fund his election campaign ahead of Taiwan’s nine-in-one local elections on Nov. 26, 2022, according to the indictment.
Lu had held a management role in which he oversaw community development of Pingtan’s Dongmei Village since 2016. Pingtan is a group of Chinese islands off the coast of Fujian Province.
Lu secured 2,000 antigen rapid testing kits, which came in 20 cartons, manufactured by the Chinese state-run Xiamen Biotime Biotechnology Co., the indictment said.
The kits were worth NT$72,000, which were given to Lu for free, the indictment stated.
Correspondence records between Lu and the office showed that Lu used such rhetoric as “one country, two systems,” “the two sides of the (Taiwan) Strait are of the same origin,” and “do Taiwanese a favor,” in requesting the kits, the indictment stated.
After Lu obtained the kits, he posted notices at residential complexes inviting residents to claim the kits by registering their household registration data with the heads of the complexes’ management committees.
The deal was called off after some residents filed a complaint with the police.
After Taiwan’s local elections on Nov. 26, prosecutors searched Lu’s residence on Dec. 7 and secured evidence of Lu’s alleged offenses.
Lu was released after posting bail of NT$100,000, after he confessed to having accepted rapid antigen testing kits supplied by an external “hostile force” for his election campaign.
He also confirmed that he worked as an “executive director” in Dongmei Village and received two year’s salary for the job.
Source: Focus Taiwan News Channel