Anti-graft train reaches Zhongshan Precinct, Prosecutors Office: Severe punishment for gang involvement in elections

(CNA) Taipei District Prosecutors Office stated today that the anti-graft train yesterday proceeded to the Taipei City Police Department's Zhongshan Precinct. Prosecutor General Wang Chun-li urged the police to monitor gang members and strictly prevent gang involvement in election disturbances, closely watch the security of campaign offices and billboards, and severely punish those committing election violence.

Yesterday, Wang Chun-li, along with Executive Secretary for Election Investigation Prosecutor Li Chung-jen, Chief Prosecutor Tseng Yang-ling, and Prosecutor Lin Hung-yi, visited the Zhongshan Precinct to hold a symposium on the investigation of the local public official elections. Taipei City Police Bureau Deputy Director Chang Su-ling, along with her subordinates responsible for election investigation affairs, and the supervisors of the Zhongshan Precinct and its eight subordinate police stations, jointly attended the meeting to discuss investigation strategies.

The Taipei District Prosecutors Office stated that the Zhongshan Precinct reported on the general election situation in its jurisdiction and the key points of its anti-graft planning. Lin Hung-yi then briefed on the key points of this election investigation work. Finally, opinions were exchanged with frontline police officers on the problems and challenges faced in investigating election obstruction, thereby strengthening intelligence gathering, meticulous investigation planning, and precise打击 illegal activities.

The Taipei District Prosecutors Office pointed out that the Zhongshan Precinct's jurisdiction primarily covers Taipei City's Zhongshan District, which combines historical culture with a bustling commercial area. It includes the exotic條通 commercial district and the popular Nanshan commercial district (around MRT Zhongshan Station), with very active commercial activities. Analysis of past election investigation cases for public officials in this area shows types of cases including vote-buying, election betting pools, election violence, obstruction of voting, and defamation (including black propaganda and fake news).

Wang Chun-li emphasized that the Zhongshan District has experienced several incidents of flag destruction, obstruction of voting, and other election violence in past public official elections. Observing the hotels, business centers, and other special commercial activity venues within the Zhongshan District, there have been many traces of gang activities in the past. To strictly prevent illegal elements of gang organizations from interfering in elections and affecting the fairness and impartiality of elections, law enforcement agencies should closely monitor the activities of gang organizations in their jurisdiction, provide prior guidance and restraint to suspicious illegal gang organizations, and if concrete evidence of illegal activity is found, they should adhere to the principle of strict investigation and swift handling, tracing back to the source to eliminate election violence.

Wang Chun-li instructed all investigation agencies to pay attention to recent large-scale whitewashing operations by foreign hostile forces using numerous fake fan pages, targeting soft livelihood issues such as food, health, and lifestyle to attract young people. These operations use AI technology to replicate content in large quantities in a short period, cultivating long-term fan bases on different social media platforms, with the intention of intervening in this year's local public official elections through cognitive warfare, aiming to manipulate election outcomes by influencing voter perceptions.

He said that it is foreseeable that fake information will flood in. In addition to tracing the sources of such social media platforms, it is also necessary to strengthen public awareness campaigns about the existence of such cognitive warfare social media platforms to prevent fake information from affecting the fairness of elections and undermining the foundation of our democracy. (Editor: Chang Ming-kun) 06/23/2024

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