Taiwan probes alleged election bribes linked to Foxconn founder Terry Gou
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Thirteen people were questioned over suspected cash payments offered in exchange for signatures in support of Mr Terry Gou’s presidential bid.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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TAIPEI - Taiwan is investigating suspected bribes connected to Foxconn Technology Group founder Terry Gou’s presidential campaign,
Thirteen people were questioned over suspected cash payments offered in exchange for signatures in support of Mr Gou’s presidential bid, the Taipei District Prosecutors Office said on Wednesday.
Mr Gou’s campaign has distanced itself from the suspects, repeating its earlier condemnation of illegal behaviour.
“Signature drives should not involve exchanges of money,” Mr Huang Shih-hsiu, a spokesman for Mr Gou’s campaign, said in a text message. “Any illegal act is not accepted.”
Mr Gou submitted signatures to the Taipei City Election Commission on Wednesday afternoon, a day ahead of the deadline, in a bid to get on the ballot in the January election, the Central News Agency reported.
Mr Huang said Mr Gou had provided more than the 290,000 signatures from eligible voters required to secure his candidacy as an independent, according to the report.
The Central Election Commission will announce by Nov 14 whether he has secured enough signatures.
Taiwan’s election will shape US-China relations for years to come, as candidates hold differing views on the self-ruled democracy’s foreign policy.
China regards the self-governing Taiwan as its territory to be reunified with it. Taiwan rejects China’s sovereignty claims.
The bribery investigation is the latest blow to Mr Gou’s campaign.
Chinese authorities have announced a probe of the tech giant to form an alliance
Prosecutors are investigating 12 cases of suspected bribes linked to Mr Gou’s campaign, and have detained 15 people across Taiwan, according to a report by Taiwan’s United Daily News.
The bribes involved supporters of political parties also in the election race, according to the report. BLOOMBERG
